Chapter 469 Strategy

Chapter 469 Strategy
When Shi Le received the letter, it was already early morning the next day, because he had just returned from an inspection of the camp on the west bank of the Qi River.

Beidaying was already in sight, and after receiving the letter, Shi Le simply ordered his men to rest in an abandoned village outside the camp.

Today is the Double Ninth Festival. Shi Le, who had taken a short nap in the second half of the night, suddenly got up and found himself a little cold.

He gazed at the weed-covered yard.

A lot of okras grew naturally in the vegetable patch, mixed with wild vegetables and weeds, swaying gently in the cold wind.

Perhaps, when the owner abandoned this courtyard, the last vegetable planted was okra.

When Shi Le left the yard, the wind was stronger and could be heard with faint shrill cries.

The grass and trees went from flourishing to withering, and were repeatedly broken by strong winds.

The air is quite fresh, with no clouds and a clear blue sky.

The bodyguards captured an old man from somewhere and found a bag of beans hidden in the firewood pile. The old man immediately collapsed to the ground, wiping his tears.

When Shi Le saw this, he was speechless for a long time.

When the personal soldiers saw Shi Le's expression, they smiled awkwardly and returned the food.

Seeing that Shi Le still had a stern face, he added a few more cakes and told the old man to get out.

The old man thanked him profusely, but did not go far away. Instead, he hid in an empty yard at the far west. Soon, curls of smoke rose up, and the aroma of boiling beans drifted in the wind.

Shi Le returned to the yard.

Before breakfast was ready, a soldier went to a nearby orchard to pick a bag of fruit.

Shi Le invited Zhang Jing, Zhang Bin and others to sit down, and talked about things while eating fruit.

"After the army arrived, there were only thorns and brambles everywhere, corpses covered the fields, and there was no one living. Before we knew it, Ji County had become like this." Shi Le ate the sweet pear with a bleak look in his eyes.

When he was young, he farmed, shepherded the cattle, and did all kinds of farm work.

Although my father was a small commander in the tribe, he had been away from home for many years. When he returned home, he was covered in injuries and had no reward from the Jin court, so his life was not very comfortable.

Continuous disasters over the years, coupled with his desire for a rich life, led him to the slave trade.

He traveled around various estates and resold slaves. He made some money at one point and his life became much better.

But he only earned "a little" because the bulk of it was divided among the officials of all ranks in Bingzhou.

Yes, Sima Teng was a ruthless person who would do anything to make money. There were countless people from the Hu Jin area of ​​Bingzhou who were sold to him, and he, Shi Le, was just a slave trader under Sima Teng.

This unethical business ended up with him being robbed by his fellow thieves. He and his goods (slaves) were sold to Qingzhou.

That period may have been the lowest point in his life, but he also met a noble person.

The owner of the manor who bought him appreciated his talent and gave him freedom. He then began a career of following Gong Shifan and Ji Sang in uprising. Today, he has become a local lord.

Shi Le had no good feelings towards officials and ministers.

He felt disgust towards the princes of the Sima family, especially people like Sima Teng who had lost all conscience.

At this point, he has become the biggest warlord in Hebei Province. He is no longer the slave trader struggling to survive, and his thoughts and ideas have changed significantly.

He still hated the Sima clan princes, but had a complicated attitude towards officials and ministers: on the one hand, he hated them, but on the other hand, he had to hold his nose and try to win them over, otherwise no one would help him manage the place.

To ordinary people, he may not be that good, after all, he exploits them all the time, but at least he knows the suffering of the people, and it does not mean that he does not sympathize with the people's plight - sympathy is sympathy, and those who should be exploited must be exploited. It does not mean that he is pretentious or schizophrenic, because human beings are inherently complex and have completely different feelings at different times.

"Shao Xun advised me to stop fighting and serve the Jin court for the sake of the people of the world." At this point, Shi Le's mouth showed an unknown meaning: "It's ridiculous. Wasn't he the one who took the initiative to provoke the war this time?"

"Your Majesty, this man probably wants to alienate Yecheng and Pingyang." Zhang Jing said, "In fact, there is no need to pay attention to him. The army is already heading south and will arrive soon. Then we can fight him to the death."

"What does Mengsun think?" Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin and asked.

Zhang Bin did not answer immediately, but frowned in thought.

Zhang Jing wanted to speak, but Shi Le stopped him with his hand and waited quietly.

After a moment, Zhang Bin cupped his hands and said, "It's not easy for Shao Xun either."

"Oh?" Shi Le's expression changed, and he asked, "Mengsun, please tell me quickly."

"Shao Xun is a minister of the Jin Dynasty, and the emperor of Jin is quite afraid of him, so he does bad things to him from time to time. Although the nobles in Luoyang were forced to cooperate with Shao Xun due to the situation, it was only temporary. In their hearts, they looked down on Shao Xun. Once Shao Xun revealed his ambition, they would not cooperate and would rise up to oppose him." "Secondly, Generals Kong and Zhao have already arrived in Henan. The cavalry can come and go like the wind, and they can eat in the wild and rely on the enemy for food. They may be able to turn Shao Xun's hinterland upside down and shake his military morale."

"Third, the attitudes of the governors of Nanyang, Xiangyang, and Jiangdong towards Shao Xun are quite interesting. Xun is in a very disadvantageous situation where he is surrounded by enemies. Once he shows signs of weakness, he will be attacked from all sides, which is very uncomfortable."

"Fourthly, when they heard that Shao Xun vigorously promoted military men to official positions, the Yuyan gentry dared to be angry but did not dare to speak out. When his fortunes were at their peak, these might be minor matters, but once his fortunes were gone, there would be major changes."

After saying this, he looked at Shi Le seriously and said, "Your Majesty, please do not plan to swallow Shao Xun in one go. In the current situation, we can only take it step by step."

"Stalemate?" Shi Le asked quickly as if he had realized something.

"Stalemate." Zhang Bin nodded and said.

Shi Le hummed, put down the half-eaten pear, stood up and thought silently.

"Will there be any change after such a long period of time?" Shi Le stopped and asked.

"Maybe there will be changes." Zhang Bin replied.

Shi Le frowned.

Zhang Bin's expression remained unchanged, and he only said, "In battle, there is no such thing as a sure win."

Shi Le suddenly smiled and said, "Meng Sun is right. Even if there is only a glimmer of hope, we must desperately seize it."

Zhang Jing looked at the two of them and stopped talking.

He really wanted to say something just now. After listening to Zhang Bin's words, he sighed secretly. Meng Sun did analyze the situation very clearly.

Attacking fortified camps and cities by force is difficult in itself, and it is impossible to bring out their cavalry advantage, so the cost outweighs the gain.

Now we can only wait and see if there will be any changes if we delay for a long time.

Even though the armies of both sides have gathered in Fangtou and the fighting is fierce, in fact, the outcome of this battle depends on places outside Fangtou - at least for their side, this is indeed the case.

"Your Majesty, perhaps we should send people to King Ye and Pingyang." Zhang Jing suddenly thought of something, so he said, "The emperor has driven back the Xianbei, and the best soldiers and generals are all resting in the three counties of Xihe, Pingyang, and Hedong. If we can persuade the emperor to transfer some troops to the south, or urge Cao Yi to send troops to help, the situation will be greatly improved. At worst, transferring Zhao Gu's troops here will also increase our chances of victory."

"What does Mengsun think?" After hearing this, Shi Le looked at Zhang Bin again.

"You may try, but don't hold out too much hope." Zhang Bin said, "I'm sure Your Majesty has heard that 'conquering Yong and Bing' is already a national policy. The elite troops of the imperial court that defeated the Xianbei may have been transferred to Guanzhong. At this time of autumn, when the horses are fat, why not use them?"

"That makes sense." Shi Le nodded repeatedly.

He has decided to send another group of envoys to Pingyang to lobby. If that doesn't work, he will just send some gifts.

He knew very well that many people in the Pingyang court disliked him and often spoke ill of him. But those people were also greedy for money, so it was always a good idea to spend some money, as there might be unexpected surprises.

"To avoid the emperor's suspicion, Your Majesty can send Shao Xun's messenger and the letter to Pingyang and let the emperor decide." Zhang Bin added, "Shao Xun listed many shameful things about the emperor in the letter, and said that the Han Dynasty would definitely fall. I think the emperor is not a magnanimous person. He will be angry when he sees the letter. Maybe there will be good news."

Shi Le laughed loudly upon hearing this and said, "Shao Xun wanted to sow discord between us, but Mengsun easily defeated him and even used the emperor to gain benefits. He is truly my Xun Yu."

"Secret dealings are not allowed in public." Zhang Bin smiled and said, "In the end, the outcome will be decided by swords and guns. Now is the time to test your willpower, and you must not lose your temper."

Shi Le's face straightened when he heard this, and he said, "Meng Sun is right. If the trick works, it's great, but if it doesn't, it's normal. I started with 18 riders and fought for years to get to where I am today. I won't put the cart before the horse."

"After the army arrives, they will have to attack. How can we become a strong army without bloodshed?"

"The situation in Henan..." Shi Le pondered for a moment and sighed, "Well, I will take out this treasure from my collection and send it to Qingzhou to persuade Cao Yi."

"Your Majesty is wise." Zhang Bin praised.

"How should we explain this to Cao Qi?" Shi Le asked.

"Shao Xun has already taken Yu and Yan. If he cannot quickly take Hebei, he will attack Qingzhou sooner or later," said Zhang Bin.

Shi Le raised his fist and praised, "Telling the truth is the easiest way to persuade people. Cao Yi must have the same worry in his heart. If more people whisper in his ear, great things will be accomplished."

After saying that, he recalled several important assistants and generals around Cao Yi, and he had a clear idea in his mind.

In fact, Cao Yi was giving face this time.

Kong Tu and Zhao Lu crossed the river from Jibei, and Cao Yi sent troops to support them. Although he later rejected the proposal to attack Yanzhou together, he also contributed some food and military supplies to support Kong and Zhao, and he still managed to put on a good show.

From this we can see that Cao Yi was actually a little worried that Shao Xun would use him as a scapegoat, and this was the opportunity.

(End of this chapter)