The World of Yellow Sky

Chapter 877
Between ten and a month, Qingzhou fell.

Counting the brave men in the township, Qingzhou originally had more than [-] people.

However, only Zhu Zhi and Cao Ren's soldiers were safely withdrawn to Pingchang City, less than [-] soldiers.

And just sixteen days later, Xu An personally led the main force of the Ming army to Pingchang.

Xu An has always acted prudently. After conquering a state or a place, he will often manage it carefully first to solve the future troubles of the land.

Everyone in the Han Court originally thought that Xu An might act in the same way this time, after all, Qingzhou is indeed more complicated.

But this time, Xu An went south again after only a brief rest in the army.

The Ming army went south again and attacked Xuzhou, which caused the whole Xuzhou to panic.

As an inland province, Xuzhou has not experienced war for a long time after the Han court recovered Qingzhou.

He did not face the war directly, but only assumed the responsibility of support.

In the previous war with Wei Ting, Xuzhou was severely damaged, and the people of Xuzhou were very afraid of war.

The Ming army went south with the power to break Qingzhou, which made the whole Xuzhou panic. Many powerful families even chose to flee south directly, sending important members of the clan to the south.

Although Pingchang City was still there, everyone did not pin their hopes on Zhu Zhi, Cao Ren, and the more than [-] soldiers under their command.

Xuzhou Mu Taoqian died of illness, and the new Xuzhou Mu was Lu Kang, a loyal general.

Lu Kang was originally Yilang. Because there were bandits Huang Rang and others in Lujiang County, they linked up with more than [-] forces in Jiangxia and other places, and captured four counties. Therefore, Lu Kang was appointed as the prefect of Lujiang to quell the chaos in Lujiang.

After Lu Kang took office, rewards and punishments were clearly defined, he mobilized his troops, recruited talents, led his troops to defeat Huang Rang and other rebels, and the rest of them also surrendered one after another.

Dong Zhuo was in chaos in Beijing, and the world was in chaos. Liu Xie fled and proclaimed himself emperor again in Chendu.

The two emperors stand side by side, and the two courts contend for each other.

At that time, Yangzhou was in turmoil, Yan Baihu had already risen, everywhere was turbulent, the world was changing, and the princes had ghosts in their hearts.

However, Lu Kang took the risk of sending Xiaolian to the court of Chendu, so he was named General Loyalty, with a rank of two thousand stones, already at the level of Jiuqing.

Later, when Yan Baihu was suppressed, Lu Kang personally led the Lujiang soldiers to attack, defeated Yan Baihu's army one after another, and finally assisted Sun Jing to defeat Yan Baihu in one fell swoop, with outstanding military exploits.

After Tao Qian became seriously ill, although Xuzhou Mu was temporarily replaced, it had been pending for a long time and had not been fully settled.

Finally, after an agreement, Lu Kang was promoted to the Xuzhou pastor to secure Xuzhou.

Lu Kang is loyal enough to the Han Dynasty, and can be regarded as courageous and resourceful. Mu Shou is enough for Xuzhou in the rear.

No one thought that in just one month after the battle of Qingzhou, Qingzhou fell, and the Ming army continued to move south.

Xuzhou had sent a lot of soldiers to the north to support the battle of Qingzhou, and also supported a lot of soldiers to Yanzhou. At this time, there were only more than [-] soldiers left in Xuzhou, and they were scattered in various cities. among.

Even Tan County, which is the governor of Xuzhou, is only guarded by more than a thousand county soldiers. Hearing the news of the Ming army going south, the whole of Xuzhou fell into panic.

Even though Lu Kang tried his best to be stable, he still couldn't stop the panic from spreading.

This is not a problem of Lu Kang's ability, but because of the fear brought by the Ming army.

The Ming army going south not only caused panic in Xuzhou, but also caused a lot of officials in Xuzhou to burn out and argue endlessly.

At this time, in Tan County, the prefecture of Xuzhou, a dispute was erupting in its government office.

"It is impossible for us to defend Xuzhou alone. In addition, there are only [-] brave men from all over the country, and they are scattered in various cities. The Ming army has tens of thousands. How can we resist?"

The [-] soldiers from Qingzhou were defeated, and now there are only [-] people in Xuzhou, and counting the local bravery trained in various places, there are only [-] more. How can it be possible to defend Xuzhou?

"At the moment, we can only ask for reinforcements..."

"joke!"

"If there is a fire and you draw water from the sea, even though there is plenty of sea water, the fire will never be extinguished, and the fire will not be extinguished if the water is far away."

"Now that the Ming army is approaching the city of Pingchang, how can we send troops from Yuzhou and Yangzhou to save the fire?"

"Since this is the case, what is your strategy to retreat from the enemy?!"

"at the moment……"

In the Tan County government office, everyone was arguing endlessly.

Lu Kang sat at the head, his face was covered with clouds.

It's hard for a clever woman to cook without rice, and now there are only so few soldiers in Xuzhou, how could it be possible to stop the Ming army from going south.

At the beginning, Huang Rang gathered more than [-] people, and he was able to defeat Huang Rang because Huang Rang was just a bandit, coercing the crowd, seemingly powerful, but he was strong from the outside.

But how can Huang Rang compare with the Ming army? The Ming army has always been known for being elite. Morale is to strengthen soldiers for the world.

Xu An is the number one military strategist in the world today.

Between ten and a month, Qingzhou was swept by electricity, and it was easy to break the fortifications, destroying the enemy more than Tang Xue.

"To shut up!"

Lu Kang frowned, and suddenly slapped the desk, the debate in the government office made him even more restless.

Seeing Lu Kang's anger, everyone in the government office was startled, and then fell silent, and the noise in the government office also dissipated.

Lu Kang looked around at the people in the government office, and sighed in his heart.

He really didn't know how Tao Qian pacified Xuzhou, or how he survived.

It should be said that Tao Qian believed in the rule of inaction, but he didn't know people at all. After he took over Xuzhou, he found that the whole Xuzhou was a mess.

When he first came to Xuzhou, he wanted to show his strengths, sweep away the ills, revitalize the economy, and contribute to the country.

But until now, he has not completely sorted out the chaos in Xuzhou, let alone cleaned up the ills.

During his reign, the politics and military of the entire Xuzhou were almost controlled by the local aristocratic family, especially when Tao Qian was seriously ill and unable to govern.

Tao Qian's two sons, Tao Shang and Tao Ying, did not become officials, which made Xuzhou's aristocratic family even stronger.

"Foreign enemies are watching tigers, and they are still arguing in the government office. It is better to calm down and think about the method of resisting the enemy."

Lu Kang looked around at the people in the hall, his tone was low.

Relying on his strong wrist, he can be regarded as having a certain following in Xuzhou, so these people dare not take what he said as deaf ears.

"If you want reinforcements from other states, you also need to use the generals in the state."

After Lu Kang was silent for a long time, he opened his mouth to set the tone for the next thing.

"Most of you are from Xuzhou, and you are related to Xuzhou's interests, so it is difficult to separate them. You should have not forgotten the system of land confiscation and public trial implemented by the Ming army in Jizhou, Qingzhou, Youzhou and other places. I don't need to say more. "

"Pingchang and the counties are the northern gates of our Xuzhou. As long as these two cities are guarded, the main force of the Ming army will not be able to go south."

"These two cities have been fortified and are close to the mountains. They are difficult to attack but easy to defend. There is actually only one way to go right now."

Lu Kang looked solemn, and said in an unquestionable tone.

"Immediately mobilize armored soldiers from all over Xuzhou to help the counties as quickly as possible."

"Although the Qingzhou Army was defeated and retreated to the south, there are still [-] armored soldiers, and they still have the strength to fight."

"And Qingzhou's defeat was not because of Zhu Zhi and Cao Ren."

"Cao Ren sent secrets and repelled Lu Bu, the general of the Ming army many times. He was good at defending the city. As for Zhu Zhi, you should be very familiar with it."

Lu Kang's words made all Xuzhou officials calm down.

At the beginning, Zang Ba almost broke into Tan County. It was Zhu Zhi who defeated Zang Ba at a critical moment and saved Xuzhou from defeat.

Zhu Zhi's name, in Xuzhou, is often easier to use than Tao Qian.

Seeing that everyone in the government office was calmed down, Lu Kang continued to speak.

"It may be too late to help the counties now."

"As you said before, the total strength of our army is no more than [-], and it is impossible to compete with the Ming army according to normal conditions."

"If you want to defend Xuzhou, you can only rely on Zhu Zhi, Cao Ren, and the [-] Qingzhou soldiers under his command. There is no other way."

After Lu Kang finished speaking, everyone did not raise objections, nor did they continue to argue.

Lu Kang's proposal is indeed the only way to go now.

Everyone continued to discuss around Lu Kang's proposal, and continued to improve his plan.

After that, in addition to Lu Kang's proposal, it was also decided to recruit civilian husbands in various parts of northern Xuzhou on the grounds of forced labor.

It is said to be forced service, but it is actually military service in disguise. Ordinary people are forcibly recruited to the army as civilian men who transport supplies, that is, they are sent to the army as auxiliary soldiers to assist in defending the city.

"This matter has been agreed, and everyone will act according to it. Time is running out now, so implement it quickly, and don't neglect it."

Lu Kang stood up and gave the order to see off the guests.

Everyone stood up, respectfully agreed, and walked towards the outside of the government office.

Mi Zhu glanced at Lu Kang, then merged into the crowd, ready to leave the mansion, but at this moment, Lu Kang stopped him.

"Zizhong stay here for now."

Mi Zhu frowned slightly, it might not be a good thing for Lu Kang to stop him at this time.

But Lu Kang is the state shepherd after all, and Mi Zhu still obeys his orders.

After everyone left, Lu Kang stepped forward.

"My lord, do you have something to ask?"

Mi Zhu bowed slightly, his complexion had recovered, and he said respectfully.

Lu Kang's face showed embarrassment.

"The Ming army wanted to attack Qingzhou before, so the imperial court ordered me to transport troops, food and supplies to support Qingzhou..."

Although Mi Zhu was mentally prepared, he couldn't help but frowned again, but soon regained his composure.

"My brother just returned from Yangzhou and bought a lot of food. There is a shortage of food and grass in the state. I am quite clear about what I will do. This batch of food and grass will be temporarily used as military supplies to solve the crisis first."

Lu Kang relaxed a little, and took Mi Zhu's hand.

"A person who knows loyalty and goodness in times of crisis, Zi Zhong generously relieves the difficulties, please accept the next worship."

Lu Kang was about to bow, but Mi Zhu would not really accept his bow, so he quickly supported Lu Kang's hands.

"It is the duty of a minister to make the king's words serious."

After being helped by Mi Zhu, Lu Kang didn't persist anymore, and after encouraging Mi Zhu a few more words, he parted ways with Mi Zhu.

Mi Zhu turned around and walked out of the government office, his expression remained the same along the way, without any change.

But when he walked out of the government office and boarded the car, his expression darkened in an instant.

In the car, Mi Zhu was not the only one, Mi Fang had been sitting in the car waiting for Mi Zhu, seeing Mi Zhu's gloomy face, he knew that there might be nothing good this time.

Mi Fang said sullenly with evil spirit on her face.

"Could it be that Lu Kang asked me to donate money and food again?"

Mi Zhu nodded. Since Lu Kang took office, he has asked for donations many times.

The reason why he became a Biejia is because Tao Qian exchanged funding for the post.

As a businessman, being able to become a state-owned business can be said to be a step up to the sky.

However, things backfired, becoming an engaged person did not change others' views of him, because his previous status as a businessman also caused him to be excluded to a certain extent.

However, when Tao Qian was in office, his status was still stable, and he also used his status as an employee to stabilize the status of the clan.

"It's really a Lujiang dog who can't get enough to eat, and it really treats my Mi family as an inexhaustible warehouse?!"

Mi Fang's face turned red, and she slammed the soft couch on the car hard.

When Tao Qian was in office, although they spent a lot of money and had to donate and lose from time to time, it was still worth it, at least they got something in return, and it was considered a merit.

It's just that after Lu Kang took over as Xuzhou Mu, he asked for donations many times, but the money and food were just thrown into the water, and there was no return at all.

Even Lu Kang looked down on them, only doing superficial work.

"How much money and food do you need this time?"

Although Mi Fang scolded Lu Kang, but Lu Kang was a state shepherd after all, and he was born in the Lu family of Wu County. He knew that the strength of the Yimi family could not resist now, and this time the donation could not escape.

"The food and grass for [-] people must last at least three months, and it will be needed in a few days to transport it to the counties."

Mi Fang suddenly turned her head and looked at Mi Zhu.

[-] people maintain the grain and grass for March and transport it to the counties in the north. Counting the consumption along the way, this is already an astronomical figure.

And this is probably not over yet, maybe in the future, Lu Kang will ask for more...

The atmosphere in the car froze instantly. This time, Mi Fang didn't scold Lu Kang angrily, but stopped speaking, but her face was slightly gloomy.

Anyone who is familiar with Mi Fang knows that if Mi Fang is really angry, she will look like this.

There was no words all the way, after the carriage entered Mi's mansion, it stopped slowly.

"You all retreat for the time being."

Mi Fang lifted the curtain of the car, dismissed the attendants, and sat back in the car again.

"How are you going, brother?"

Mi Fang sat in the car, facing Mi Zhu, his tone was low.

Mi Zhu raised his head and looked at Mi Fang with a slightly gloomy expression.

"I also want to ask you this question."

Mi Fang's eyes moved slightly.

Mi Zhu didn't wait for Mi Fang to speak, and spoke first.

"In Tan County, as long as I want to know, there is nothing that can be hidden from my eyes and ears, let alone in my Mi family's mansion."

"Since last year, you have already interacted with people from Eagle Wolf Guard."

"In the past few days, your contacts have become closer and closer, and I know it all."

"So, I'm asking you now."

"What are you going to do?"

The expression on Mi Fang's face changed, and her heart turned back and forth.

"Since my brother knows it, I won't hide it anymore."

(End of this chapter)