At the end of the Han Dynasty: a stingy husband from his hometown

Chapter 126 Ghosts make their debut

Outside Changshe City.

Zhou Qi had already learned the news that Zhu Jun died in battle and Huangfusong retreated to Xinzheng.

He looked at the messy battlefield, but remained silent for a long time.

"How could this be?"

Zhou Qi couldn't figure out why the battle situation in Yingchuan had changed so drastically, and Zhu Jun, the right middle man, was actually killed in battle.

According to the original history, Bo Cai should have been seriously injured by this fire.

"Could this be the so-called butterfly effect?"

While Zhou Qi was sighing, a scout suddenly came to report: "Report to the county magistrate, the bandits in the city have discovered our traces, and have already left the city to kill us."

Zhou Qi's face was serious when he heard this, and said: "General You Zhonglang has already died in battle, and General Zuo Zhonglang will retreat to Xinzheng. Everyone, follow me to Xinzheng and help General Zuo Zhonglang defend the city."

Zhou Qi did not dare to stay too long, and headed straight towards Xinzheng with his troops.

The army withdrew to the banks of the Mishui River and walked up the Mishui River. As soon as they arrived in Xinzheng, they felt something was not right.

"stop!"

Zhou Qi looked at the water village in Weishui in the distance, and then at the antlers, roadblocks and sentries set up on the official road, and couldn't help secretly praising Huangfusong's prudence in using his troops.

"Who is coming, report your name quickly!"

Huangfusong set up a water fortress because he was worried that the Yellow Turban Army would recruit water troops and attack Xinzheng from the Jishui River.

The roadblocks are also to warn against the Yellow Turbans.

The Changshe was lost, and the officers and soldiers could no longer afford to be defeated. Huangfusong could only be more cautious.

If Zhou Qi and others hadn't been dressed as officers and soldiers, the soldiers responsible for guarding might have blown the horns long ago.

Even so, they all began to pay attention to their guard.

Just because the Yellow Turban thieves first defeated the officers and soldiers, and then captured the Changshe, and seized countless armors and weapons, they could dress up as officers and soldiers.

Zhou Qi saw that the officers and soldiers on the opposite side were so heavily guarded. He immediately took two steps forward and shouted loudly: "I am Zhou Qi, Zhou Ziyi, the magistrate of Anfeng County. I have been recruited by General You Zhonglang to lead the troops to Yingchuan to put down the rebellion."

"After arriving at Changshe, I learned that You Zhonglang would be killed in battle and that the city was occupied by bandits. He did not dare to stay too long, so he came to Xinzheng to join Zuo Zhonglang."

The officers and soldiers in charge of security all showed excited expressions on their faces when they heard that the visitor claimed to be Zhou Qi, the magistrate of Anfeng County.

Since Zhu Jun's defeat at Changshe, the Yellow Turban Army has become more and more powerful, but the officers and soldiers have been defeated in succession, their morale is low, and they have no fighting spirit at all.

Even though Huangfu Song ate and slept with the soldiers and constantly encouraged the officers and soldiers, it was still difficult to change the status quo.

The atmosphere in the army has also become extremely pessimistic.

It wasn't until the news that Zhou Qi defeated the strong with the weak in Runan, smashed the Yellow Turban bandits, and wrote a letter to the Yellow Turban Qu Shuai Peng Tuo, after Huang Fusong's publicity, this made the officers and soldiers sweep away the past decline and regained a little morale.

Huangfusong used Zhou Qi's deeds to inspire the army, which was equivalent to making Zhou Qi famous.

Nowadays, Zhou Qi's name is almost unknown to everyone in Xinzheng.

They are also looking forward to the fact that this young talent who is like a god in soldiers will be able to lead the troops to Xinzheng as soon as possible.

Only in this way will the soldiers and people of Xinzheng no longer fear the Yellow Turbans.

Yes.

Only after the officers and soldiers in charge of security heard Zhou Qi's name would they have such a big reaction.

The leader was quite cautious, although he was excited and joyful, he still asked: "Do you have a seal that can prove your identity?"

Zhou Qi took out his seal and ribbon of Anfeng county magistrate, and the document written by Runan prefect Zhao Qian, and sent someone to send it over.

The general took the seal and the document and said apologetically to Zhou Qi: "Please forgive me, Magistrate Zhou. General Zuo Zhonglang has an order: Do not let anyone enter Xinzheng without military orders. Violators will be punished according to military law."

"It won't be too late to let Magistrate Zhou come in after someone sends someone to report to General Zuo Zhonglang."

Zhou Qi was not angry when he heard the words, but said with a smile: "Your Excellency's actions are all your duty, so how can I blame you?"

Zhou Qi returned to the main formation and let his soldiers and horses rest in place for the time being.

But Dian Wei leaned over and said, "Does Duke Ming feel that the attitude of those officers and soldiers seems to be a little off?"

Xu Chu, carrying the sword, also nodded and said: "What Mr. Dian said is absolutely true. After the officers and soldiers heard Duke Ming announce his name, their faces showed joy and reverence."

Zhou Jin smiled and said, "What's so strange about this? Duke Ming's great achievements in Runan must have spread to Xinzheng. These officers and soldiers have been defeated repeatedly, and when they heard about Duke Ming's reputation, their attitudes changed drastically."

Dian Wei nodded: "That statement makes sense."

Xu Chu chuckled and said: "Duke Ming has made such great achievements, and I don't know what rewards the court will give."

Zhou Qi shook his head and said: "Although I have made great contributions, my background is not very good, so I may not be able to get too much reward."

Zhou Qi knew that the emperor was stingy with official positions, so he didn't have much hope for the award. Perhaps the imperial court's award for Zhao Qian, the prefect of Runan, might be higher than his own.

He didn't want Dian Wei and Xu Chu to be disappointed in the future, so he vaccinated them in advance.

Time passed slowly.

Not long after, Zuo Zhonglang General Huang Fusong came to Zhou Qi with a group of soldiers.

He got off his horse and looked at Zhou Qi, and asked, "Your Excellency, Zhou Ziyi from Peiguo?"

Zhou Qi hastily made a bow and said, "Your Majesty Zhou Qi, I pay my respects to General Zuo Zhonglang."

Huangfu Song hurriedly stepped forward to hold Zhou Qi's arms, and said with a wry smile: "In the army, merit is always judged by merit. I am Zuo Zhonglang General, with more than [-] troops under my command, but my performance is not as good as Ziyi's."

When Zhou Qi heard this, he panicked and said, "I was lucky enough to break the Yellow Turban, and it was all thanks to the help of Ambassador Zhao. How dare I take credit?"

Huangfusong shook his head, and then said seriously: "I have learned the detailed process of Ziyi breaking the yellow scarf."

"It is precisely because I know the whole process that I know that the fighter plane is fleeting. How easy it is to do this. How can it be a fluke?"

Even if others see the battle report, they may not understand the secret.

Huangfusong was different.

He comes from a family of generals and has been familiar with military books since he was a child. He knows that under such circumstances, he can anticipate unseasonal strong winds in advance and seize the fleeting opportunity to set fire to the camp before the heavy rain. How powerful is it? difficulty.

Huangfusong thought to himself, if he moved to another place, he might not be able to achieve such perfection.

not to mention.

Zhou Qi still tried his best to persuade Zhao Qian when everyone didn't understand, and insisted on leading 500 people to burn the camp.

To do so requires a very strong heart.

Otherwise, if you fail to make meritorious deeds, not to mention the possible punishment, it will be difficult to bear just the secret ridicule from your superiors and colleagues.

Zhou Qi entered Xinzheng City, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city was really boosted, and the reinforcement of the city defense became more active.

a few days later.

When the angel arrived in Xinzheng, he first reprimanded Huangfusong for losing the Changshe and using troops badly, and then issued an imperial edict to demote him to a fake Zuozhonglang general.

After dealing with Huangfusong's matter, the angel suddenly asked: "Anfeng County Magistrate Zhou Qi, can you be here?"

Zhou Qi heard the words, hurriedly stepped forward and said: "I am Zhou Qi."

The angel looked at the heroic Zhou Qi, knowing that the emperor valued this young man very much, so his attitude became gentle.

Then he took out another edict and said: "Zhou Qi accepts the order!"

Zhou Qi didn't dare to be negligent when he heard the words, and hurriedly knelt on the ground.

Dian Wei, Xu Chu and Zhou Qi's trilogy, seeing each other, also knelt down one after another.

"The Yellow Turbans are rampant and everyone is in fear. Only Anfeng County Magistrate Zhou Qi is not afraid in the face of danger. He uses the weak to defeat the strong, defeats the Yellow Turbans in Runan, and makes the thieves chief head."

"Those who have made meritorious deeds must not be unrewarded."

"Today, Zhou Qi is appointed as a false right-hand man general. During the holidays, he was ordered to gather Zhu Jun's remaining troops and temporarily assist Huangfu Song in guarding Xinzheng. Wait for the soldiers and horses to be replenished before they can be used for other purposes."

"The meritorious soldiers under your command can be promoted by themselves."

This edict shocked everyone present.

Huangfusong lost the battle and was demoted to the rank of fake Zuo Zhonglang. This punishment was not too severe, but it made Huangfusong secretly relieved.

The imperial court's extraordinary promotion of Zhou Qi was beyond everyone's expectations.

Although Zhou Qi's establishment has made great contributions.

However, the imperial court also attaches great importance to family background, reputation, and qualifications. Zhou Qi clearly failed to meet these three points. Even if he made great achievements, it would be difficult to be promoted quickly.

After the shock, the defeated soldiers who originally belonged to Zhu Jun were extremely happy.

A general is the courage of a soldier, and it is definitely the dream of all soldiers to follow a brave general.

As for Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Zhou Jin and other trilogy, I was overjoyed.

They followed Zhou Qi to fight everywhere, just to make achievements. Now Zhou Qi was named the false right-wing general, and the troops who followed him on the left and right also raised chickens and dogs to heaven.

"Your Majesty accepts the order, thank you for your grace."

Zhou Qi received the imperial decree, but there was no joy on his face.

Compared to the excitement of everyone under his command, Zhou Qi seemed a little worried.

The fake right middle man looks very majestic, but after all, he still carries the word "fake", which means agency or internship.

Now the imperial court urgently needs someone who knows military affairs to put down the Yellow Turban, so that Zhou Qi will be promoted exceptionally.

However, with Zhou Qi's background and reputation, he is obviously not qualified for the position of Youzhong Langjiang, so he was only appointed as a temporary substitute.

If it's done well, it's the emperor's knowledge of people, and it's impossible for Zhou Qi to become a regular.

Do you know why?

General Gein Zhonglang is the commander of the imperial guards and is responsible for protecting the safety of the emperor. If it were not for an emergency, the imperial court would not conscript the five schools of the Northern Army and let Huangfusong and others lead the fight against the rebellion.

After the end of the war, the official position of General Zhonglang temporarily conferred by the court will inevitably be withdrawn.

Now is not the chaotic period when the princes are rising together. Military officers like Zhonglang Jiang, Xiaowei, and Qiduwei have very high gold content, and the imperial court will not easily confer titles on people.

If Zhou Qi fails to suppress the rebellion, he will not only be dismissed from this temporary official position at any time, but may even be punished.

Thinking of this, Zhou Qi immediately felt uneasy.

With the failure of Huangfu's Songhuo attack and Zhu Jun being shot to death by random arrows, the original trajectory of history has been changed.

Zhou Qi does have the talent to command troops.

But it is not easy to put down the Yellow Turban, the most important thing is to have the imperial court on it, otherwise Zhou Qi can fight steadily to suppress the rebellion.

However, the imperial court is now a little eager for quick success, and Zhou Qi not only needs to successfully quell the rebellion, but also needs to quell the rebellion quickly.

Otherwise, what happened to Lu Zhi, the Northern Zhonglang general in history, is very likely to be staged on Zhou Qi.

However, according to the current situation in Yingchuan, it is obviously too unrealistic to defeat the Yellow Turban led by Bocai in a short time.

"I planned to follow Zhu Jun to make some contributions, so I didn't bring Zhicai with me. Now that I lead an army alone, and shoulder the important task of suppressing the Yellow Turbans, it seems that Zhicai must be brought with me."

Not to mention that Zhou Qi sent people to pick up Xi Zhicai, and gathered Zhu Jun's old troops to help Huangfusong strengthen the city defense.

However, since Bocai defeated the officers and soldiers and took down the Changsha, he did not take advantage of the victory to attack Xinzheng, but began to consolidate the city defense.

In addition, Bocai was still angry and ordered people to go to Yangzhai to capture the Guotu people.

The Guo family is also considered a big family in Yingchuan, owning land, mansions, and countless branches.

Just started.

Because Guo Tu secretly helped Bocai, the Guo clan was not looted by the Yellow Turban Army, and even many members of the Guo clan did not hide in Yangdi City.

Therefore, when Bo Cai became ruthless and ordered his subordinates to arrest the Guo clan members, many of the Guo clan members had no time to escape and were captured by the Yellow Turban Army.

Because Bocai hated Guo Tu and almost killed 10,000+ Yellow Turbans under his command, not only was Guo Tu's lineage arrested this time, even members of the Guo clan who were far away from Guo Tu were also hunted down by the Yellow Turban Army.

Anyone who resisted was killed on the spot.

As a result, within a few days, nearly a hundred people from the Guo family were killed, and hundreds of people from the rest of the clan, including the servants at home, were escorted into Changshe City.

Cai Shikou.

Bocai looked at the hundreds of men, women and children of the Guo family who were kneeling on the ground with disheveled hair, and his eyes were stern.

He shouted to the people who were onlookers: "I, the Yellow Turban Army, inherited the Tiantian uprising and saved all the people from the fire and water. I am definitely not a brutal and indiscriminate killer."

"However, the Yingchuan Guo family wants to destroy the lives of tens of thousands of my brothers with treacherous schemes."

"If you don't avenge this, it will be difficult to explain to your subordinates, and it will be impossible to deter those who have evil intentions."

Speaking of this, Bo Cai pointed to the hundreds of people kneeling on the ground, and said: "Those who want to join the Yellow Turban Army, I applaud and greet them, and those who want to spoil my Yellow Turban plan with evil intentions, these people are a lesson from the past!"

Seeing that everyone in the audience was shocked, Bo Cai immediately picked up a command arrow and was about to throw it on the ground for execution by the executioner.

"He's handsome, let's move slowly!"

Just when Bo Cai was about to throw away the command arrow in his hand, a clear voice suddenly came from the execution ground.

Bocai looked up and saw a man wearing a gauze, who was being stopped by the yellow scarf warriors who were maintaining order. He waved his hands and shouted loudly.

Bocai saw this, but he didn't intend to pay attention to it, so he prepared to continue to order the execution.

"I have a plan to solve the worries in Qu Shuai's heart, please suspend the execution!"

Seeing this, the man wearing a light veil covering his face shouted hastily.

Hearing this, Bo Cai set his eyes on the man again, then put away the command arrow in his hand, and signaled the yellow turban warrior to bring the man up.

"People who hide their heads and show their tails dare to speak nonsense to solve my worries!"

The man bowed to Bo Cai, and then said in a low voice: "The only thing Qu Shuai is worried about is how to enter Sizhou."

"If you can let these Guo clan members go, I am willing to help Commander Qu capture Xinzheng."

Hearing this, Bo Cai pulled back the veil and saw a young face who was only fourteen or fifteen years old.

The young man was handsome and thin, but his eyes were very agile and full of wisdom.

Bocai sneered and said, "Xinzheng is surrounded by mountains and rivers, easy to defend but difficult to attack. How dare you speak such wild words?"

But the young man said firmly: "If Shuai Qu uses my strategy and cannot capture Xinzheng within half a month, he can kill me to sacrifice the flag first, and then kill hundreds of members of the Guo clan!"

Bocai stared at the young man and finally asked: "What is your name?"

The young man looked directly at Bo Cai without avoiding it, and said, "Guo Jia."

Bocai's expression moved slightly and he asked, "Are you from the Guo family of Yingchuan?"

Guo Jia nodded and said, "Exactly."

Bocai asked again, "What is your relationship with Guo Tu?"

Guo Jia replied: "It's just that they belong to the same clan. Because of the distant relationship, we don't usually have any contact with each other."

Bo Cai took a deep look at Guo Jia and said, "I'll only give you ten days, if you can't conquer Xinzheng, I will destroy your entire clan!"

Guo Jia shook his head and said: "I want to use the weather to help Qu Shuai attack Xinzheng. Ten days is not enough, half a month is needed."

When Bo Cai heard the words, he believed them a little, and said, "Since that's the case, I'll let the Guo clan members go for now, I just hope you're not fooling me."

Guo Jia said seriously: "Jia Shang is young, he cherishes his life very much, how dare he fool Qu Shuai."

"But I have something to say first. I only offer advice to Commander Qu to defeat Xinzheng. After Xinzheng is defeated, Commander Qu will let me and the Guo clan go."

Bo Cai looked at the young Guo Jia and said with great interest, "You are very confident."

Guo Jia just smiled but did not answer.

Two flowers bloom, one branch each.

While Zhou Qi was waiting for the imperial reinforcements, the weather became more and more sweltering, and there was no rain for more than ten consecutive days, and even the water level began to drop sharply.

At the same time, Bocai had already led his Yellow Turban Army, surrounded Xinzheng, and set off at a position [-] miles south of Xinzheng.

Not only that.

The Yellow Turban Army also began to recruit ships everywhere, and ordered people to build warships and rafts, and it seemed that they also planned to build a water village in the upper reaches of Weishui River.

Inside Xinzheng City.

Zhou Qi frowned slightly as he looked at the slowly retreating Yellow Turban Army.

He turned to look at Huangfu Song and said, "The yellow scarf thieves seem to be acting a little strange these days."

Huangfu Song also nodded and said: "Bo Cai sends people to attack the city every day, but the attack is not violent, but it seems to be probing. Could it be that the Yellow Turban Bandits are building siege equipment?"

Zhou Qi thought about it over and over, but couldn't figure out the Yellow Turban Army's intention.

He wiped the sweat from his face and said: "These days, I have sent out spies many times, but no one has returned."

"Today's water and land are blocked by the Yellow Turban bandits' camp, and there is no way to detect information about Yingchuan."

Huangfu Song stroked his beard, and said: "Although I can't figure out the movement of the bandit army, but we just need to guard Xinzheng and form a corner with Shuizhai, and the Yellow Turban bandits don't want to push forward any further."

"It's extremely hot today, and the Yellow Turban Bandits gathered tens of thousands of people again, consuming a huge amount of food and grass supplies."

"When the food and grass in Changshe City are exhausted, the death of the Yellow Turban Thief will not be far away."

Zhou Qi was silent when he heard the words.

He knew what Huangfusong meant.

In the early days of the Yellow Turban Uprising, they only robbed the powerful and the government of money and food, and distributed the food to the poor, so they got the support of many people, and many people even took the initiative to inform the Yellow Turban Army.

It is for this reason that the Yellow Turban Army is difficult to destroy.

As time went by, the Yellow Turban Army ran out of food and grass. In order to maintain the huge army, they began to rob people of food from their homes.

As long as you wait until that time, the Yellow Turban Army will gradually lose popular support.

Without the support of the people, the Yellow Turban Army is almost an enemy of the whole world. How can it be invincible?
For the current plan, just wait quietly, the Yellow Turban Army will perish by itself sooner or later.

Zhou Qi looked up at the scorching sun in the sky and said, "The weather is so hot. It hasn't rained for a long time. Even the water level of the river has dropped sharply."

"If this goes on like this, I'm afraid this year's crops will fail again."

Huangfusong also frowned and said: "The water level of this water has dropped abnormally."

Zhou Qi was startled suddenly, and asked: "General Zuo Zhonglang, do you think the Yellow Turban bandits will store water in the upper reaches of the Wei River, and then use water attack tactics to defeat Xinzheng?"

Huangfu Song immediately smiled and shook his head when he heard the words, "As a major city, Xinzheng has considered this issue as early as its establishment, so it is located on the north bank of the Weishui River, and the city was built on a higher terrain."

“Even if the Wei River breaks its banks, it will never be able to submerge Xinzheng.”

Zhou Qi asked: "Isn't it okay to store water in advance?"

Huangfusong pointed to the location in the north, and said: "The Suohou Pavilion and its surrounding areas in the north are relatively low-lying. Even if the Yellow Turban Bandits store water in advance and then break the embankment, the flood will flow back to the surrounding area of ​​Suohou Pavilion first, and there is no threat at all. Xinzheng."

"unless……"

Having said that, Huangfusong paused.

Zhou Qi asked hurriedly: "Unless what?"

Huangfu Song thought for a moment, and then replied: "Unless it rains heavily for three days in the upper reaches of the Mishui River, even if there is a low-lying Suohou Pavilion, it may not be able to drain the flood in time."

"Three days?"

Zhou Qi breathed a sigh of relief when he heard that.

If the Yellow Turban Army really planned to flood Xinzheng, then the three-day torrential rain would be enough for the officers and soldiers to escape early.

I believe that the Yellow Turban Army knows the terrain of Xinzheng, and they will not do such thankless things.

Suohou Pavilion.

Xiang Hong led more than a hundred elites and escorted Xi Zhicai from Chenliu to Henan Yin, and then rushed from north to south towards Xinzheng.

The reason for taking so many detours.

Because of the rampant yellow scarves in Yingchuan, Xi Zhicai and others were too eye-catching, and Bocai blocked the road from Yingchuan to Xinzheng, so Xi Zhicai and others had to make a detour.

"It's really strange, why is there no one here?"

Xiang Hong walked for more than ten miles, but didn't see many people at all, so he couldn't help but said doubtfully.

Xi Zhicai said with a smile, "After the severe drought, there must be a severe flood."

"If my prediction is correct, there will be heavy rain soon. The terrain near Zuohou Pavilion is low, and if we don't evacuate as soon as possible, we may cause flooding."

"The people here have lived for a long time, and they have already figured out the rules. They must have evacuated early."

Hearing this, Xiang Hong suddenly realized, and then continued on his way with Xi Zhicai.

Before they arrived in Xinzheng, there was lightning and thunder in the sky, and a heavy rainstorm was about to fall.

Seeing that it was getting late, Xiang Hong originally wanted to find a place to shelter from the rain, but Xi Zhicai said, "The surrounding terrain is not very high. If you spend the night here rashly, you may be flooded."

"This place is not far from Xinzheng, you should speed up and arrive at Xinzheng as soon as possible."

Xiang Hong followed his words and continued to march forward with his elite troops.

Seeing that the sky was already dark and the heavy rain was about to fall, they barely reached the bank of the Weishui River, and the city gate was closed early.

Xiang Hong had no choice but to find a posthouse to shelter from the rain.

It rained all night.

At dawn the next day, Xi Zhicai rushed into Xiang Hong's camp and said, "Duke Ming is in danger, follow me to Xinzheng quickly!"

　Brothers, if you see a typo or something, choose the error correction function and correct it for me directly, so that the writer will have a reminder in the background, so that I don't have to look for it for a long time.

　　In the book review area, there is a map of the protagonist discussing the Yellow Turban, interested brothers can go and have a look.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)