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

Chapter 394 I have a plan

However, after Chu and Zhao stopped fighting and concluded an alliance, Zhou Qi immediately appointed Xiang Hong as the governor of Xuzhou and Zhuge Liang as his farewell commander.

In fact, based on Zhuge Liang's merits, the official position of Xuzhou Biejia was a bit low. However, Zhou Qi had his own considerations about Zhuge Liang's future, so he did not promote him too quickly.

Not only Xiang Hong and Zhuge Liang, but also the heroic general Zhang Liao was sent to Xuzhou.

Xiang Hong traveled with Zhuge Liang, but Zhang Liao led his troops straight to Langya Kingdom, which was also Zhuge Liang's hometown.

During the march, Xiang Hong couldn't help but feel good about Zhuge Liang, who was humble, polite and talented.

He hesitated for a while, but finally asked: "Before I went to Nanzhong, I heard my lord mention Kong Ming many times, which is quite rare. With my lord's ability to know people, I think Kong Ming must be extraordinary. "

"Although I was stationed in Nanzhong later, I also heard a lot of Kong Ming's deeds. It can be seen that the lord did not misjudge the person."

"Now I have something unclear. I wonder if Kong Ming can help me clear up my confusion?"

Zhuge Liang said: "If you have any doubts, just tell me!"

Xiang Hong pondered for a long time and said: "I know that my lord values ​​love and justice, but the fight with Yuan Benchu ​​is related to the situation of the world. Since my lord can capture Yuan Benchu ​​alive in one battle, why should he let the tiger go back to the mountain?"

Not only did Xiang Hong have doubts in his heart, but most of the civil servants and generals of the Chu State could not understand the significance of the King of Chu's move to release Yuan Shao.

Zhuge Liang smiled slightly and asked: "After this defeat, hundreds of thousands of Zhao's elite troops were lost south of the Huaihe River, and Zhao also ceded Xuzhou, Runan and Pei. I dare to ask the general, can Yuan Benchu ​​recover within ten years? vitality?"

Xiang Hong pondered for a while and said: "Not to mention ten years. If Zhao State does not plunder the population from outside, even if it takes twenty years to rest and recuperate, it may not be able to recover."

What Xiang Hong said was not wrong.

Human beings have a strong reproductive capacity, but it takes a long time for a baby to grow from birth to adulthood.

In this battle, Zhao's vitality was severely damaged, and it would take at least a generation's efforts to restore the country's strength.

Zhuge Liang asked again: "So do you think Yuan Benchu ​​can live another ten years?"

This time, Xiang Hong didn't hesitate at all and shook his head directly: "I often heard that Yuan Benchu ​​was coughing up blood. Now his condition is getting worse. I'm afraid he won't live long."

Zhuge Liang said: "Since Yuan Benchu's days are running out, what's the difference between capturing him and not capturing him?"

Xiang Hong retorted: "Why is there no difference? If Yuan Benchu ​​can be captured alive and his life is threatened, then won't all the land in Hebei belong to the lord?"

Zhuge Liang shook his head and said: "Please don't forget, with Yuan Benchu's pride, how can he be willing to be captured alive by his lord?"

"Even if he is really forced into a desperate situation, Yuan Benchu ​​will definitely kill himself instead of becoming a prisoner of his subordinates!"

Yuan Shao is not Yuan Shu.

Both of them are arrogant, but Yuan Shao's arrogance is arrogant to the core. It belongs to the natural arrogance of a noble, arrogant and arrogant.

Yuan Shu is more superficial and proud.

Therefore, Yuan Shu could be captured alive by Zhou Qi and survive, but Yuan Shao could not do the same.

What's more, Yuan Shao didn't have much time left, so how could he tarnish his reputation before he died?

Zhuge Liang continued: "If Yuan Benchu ​​commits suicide because he cannot bear to be captured, his troops, horses, and civil and military personnel will certainly be left south of the Huaihe River, but it will also bring great trouble to the lord."

Xiang Hong's heart moved slightly and he asked: "Sir, are you referring to those Yuan armies that were scattered everywhere?"

Zhuge Liang said: "This is just one of them."

"Although Yuan Benchu ​​was defeated, he still managed Hebei for many years, promoted benevolent government, and cared about the people, so he was quite popular."

"Without Yuan Benchu's edict to persuade him to surrender, the hundreds of thousands of Yuan's troops who dispersed the two states and counties to fight on their own would inevitably turn everything into ruins. If the lord wants to quell these rebels, it will cost a lot."

"The Lord will release Yuan Benchu ​​as a condition and order him to issue a surrender edict, so that he can use these rebels for his own purposes."

"Although in a short period of time, these surrendered soldiers of the State of Zhao are not trustworthy, nor can they bear the heavy responsibility, and they may even become a heavy burden to the State of Chu. But after a few years, as long as they settle down in the State of Chu, sooner or later they will become the ruler of the Lord." Trusting people.”

"At that time, if my lord wants to make an expedition to the north, these people can be transformed into soldiers."

This era was a time of war, and countless young men died in battle, so there were many widows in every county.

Most of the soldiers who surrendered from the Zhao Kingdom were young and strong. As long as they were given fields, houses and wives, they would naturally not be able to run away if they had children in the future.

However, Zhou Qi also spent a lot of money and food during the years of fighting Yuan Shao, and it took a lot of materials to house these young men, so he was unable to annex Yuan Shao's territory in a short time.

Hearing this, Xiang Hong's doubts eased slightly, but he remembered Zhuge Liang's previous words and immediately asked again: "Kong Ming said this is just one of them, are there other reasons?"

Zhuge Liang nodded: "Hundreds of thousands of Yuan's troops surrendered and stranded in the Chu State. If we do not take strict precautions, it will inevitably bring huge hidden dangers. In a short time, the Chu State will be unable to make the Northern Expedition. If Yuan Shao dies and the Zhao State is in danger, Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande will definitely take the opportunity. Massively occupy the territory of Zhao State and reap the benefits. "

"In fact, as early as the news that Yuan Jun's grain and grass were burned by General Gan spread, Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande had already begun to mobilize their troops and captured many cities."

"My lord has exhausted the country's strength and worked hard to fight Yuan Benchu ​​for several years. How can he let others reap the benefits?"

"Only by releasing Yuan Benchu ​​can we stabilize the situation in Hebei, fight against Cao and Liu, and buy us enough time."

Xiang Hong suddenly realized it and said: "It turns out there are so many calculations here!"

Not to mention Xiang Hong, Zhuge Liang, and Zhang Liao went to Xuzhou to take up their posts.

But it is said that Zhou Qi personally took charge of Guangling County and mobilized almost the entire Chu State. It took him half a year to finally pacify the hundreds of thousands of Zhao State surrendered soldiers.

In half a year, the Chu State's national power was almost exhausted.

Some people may say that when Zhou Qi had not yet fully taken control of Yangzhou, he settled so many refugees and did not consume such a huge amount of money. Why did he go to war to settle hundreds of thousands of Zhao's surrendered soldiers?
In fact, there are fundamental differences between the two. Most of those who can become refugees are already desperate. Zhou Qi only needs to ensure their most basic living conditions. Not only will these refugees not make trouble, but they will also be grateful.

If we draw another big pie, these refugees can be quickly transformed into labor force to help Zhou Qi develop various places.

The soldiers of Zhao State who surrendered were not the same.

First of all, they were not willing to surrender. They all had family members in Hebei and had no intention of staying in Chu. Instead, they wanted to return to their hometown.

With this kind of mentality, we naturally cannot expect them to settle down as easily as the refugees. The slightest carelessness will lead to mutiny.

Secondly, the refugees can build new villages nearby. As long as their basic survival needs can be guaranteed, they will basically not cause trouble, but will happily build their hometown.

The surrendered soldiers of Zhao State could not gather together. Instead, they had to be dispersed to various counties and counties of Chu State, so that they could not connect with each other, cause rebellion, and abscond. They also had to be supervised by officials in each county, township, and pavilion.

As a result, it will inevitably consume huge manpower, material resources and time.

Humans are group creatures.

In half a year, after all the surrendered soldiers of Yuan Army were dispersed and settled in various places, these people, who were alone and alone, had no choice but to accept their fate.

Next, as long as various places can provide them with wives, and after the mother-in-law becomes pregnant, as long as the politics of Chu State are clear and the living conditions are not too bad, people will really stay.

After spending more than half a year, Zhou Qi felt exhausted. If Du Ji and Zhang Zhao had not been transferred back in advance, he might have been even more tired.

As soon as Zhou Qi returned to Xiangyang, he received battle reports from the north.

But it was said that after Yuan Shao returned to Yecheng with the remaining defeated generals, the Zhao State, which was already on the verge of collapse, seemed to have a backbone.

Yuan Shao first quickly put down several rebellions in the country that had arisen due to his own defeat, and then reactivated Jushou and ordered senior officials, Jushou, and Feng Ji to lead troops to resist Cao Cao's attack, asking them to stick to the city for defense and not take the initiative to fight.

It has to be said that the Battle of Guangling completely awakened Yuan Shao, not only allowing him to re-enable Jushou, but also making Yuan Shao abandon his pride.

The reason why Jushou was employed was because Yuan Shao knew that since both Zhang He and Gao Lan had surrendered to the Chu State, if Jushou was dismissed or executed again, he would inevitably lose the support of the Hebei soldiers.

Now that Zhao State is in the midst of internal and external troubles, only by re-employing Jushu can the people of Hebei be stabilized.

As expected, Jushou, as the leader of the Hebei faction, was quite prestigious both in the court and among the people. When he really stood up, many civil servants and generals of Hebei origin who had originally planned to abandon Yuan Shao once again united around Jushou and closely followed him. Follow Yuan Shao.

It was precisely because of Ju Shou that Yuan Shao was able to put down the civil strife in Hebei so quickly.

If it were in the past, not to mention Cao Cao, even if he faced Zhou Qi, Yuan Shao would not order to only defend but not attack. Instead, he would maintain a strong aggressiveness.

However, Zhao State is not what it used to be.

Although the only territory Yuan Shao really lost was Runan, Pei State and Xuzhou were not under the jurisdiction of Zhao State before.

However, due to the burning of grain and grass, hundreds of thousands of troops were defeated in Guangling. Today, Zhao's territory does not seem to have been reduced much, but its national strength has actually been reduced a lot.

In order to quell the rebellion and resist Cao Cao and Liu Bei, Yuan Shao had no choice but to conduct large-scale conscription again, and even lowered the lower age limit for conscription and raised the upper age limit for conscription.

Even so, the newly recruited soldiers lacked training after all, and their combat effectiveness was worrying. Yuan Shao had no choice but to order to only defend but not attack.

As for Liu Bei who invaded Zhao State, Yuan Shao personally led the army to conquer.

Liu Bei was short of troops and food, and the Nanyang County he occupied had almost no population. If Yuan Shao died, he might really be able to take advantage of the situation.

It's a pity that Yuan Shao didn't die. Even if Zhao Guo's vitality was seriously injured, he was still a fierce tiger after all.

Yuan Shao didn't even take the initiative to attack, but just defended the city.

Liu Bei's troops were short of food and he did not dare to attack the city. When he saw Yuan Shao personally leading his army to attack, he withdrew in despair.

After Liu Bei withdrew, Yuan Shao could concentrate his efforts on dealing with Cao Cao.

It's just that Cao Cao is not easy to deal with, and he has been recharging his strength for a long time.

The two sides fought for half a year, with each other winning or losing. Originally, the battle was still in a stalemate, but he did not expect that Cao Cao would build a plank road secretly to Chencang. He and Yuan Shao fought in Yanzhou, but Xiahou Yuan traveled thousands of miles to attack Bingzhou.

Yuan Shao was defeated by Zhou Qi first, but he conscripted troops, levied grain, and increased taxes later. In addition, the Han and Hu people living in Bingzhou and the people's customs were fierce, which caused many people to complain.

After Xia Houyuan made a surprise attack into Bingzhou, he sent people to bribe the tribal leaders with heavy gifts, so that all the Xiongnu tribes responded and sent troops to help Xia Houyuan.

The Huns' rebellion caused the situation in Bingzhou to completely get out of control, and many Zhao officials were killed.

If Bingzhou is lost, Cao Cao will be able to send troops to attack Jizhou, You, and Yanzhou respectively, and Yuan Shao will be in a very passive situation.

Yuan Shao wanted to divide his troops to rescue Bingzhou, but he was in a dilemma.

Fewer troops were sent, making it difficult to change the situation in Bingzhou.

If more troops are sent, it is very likely that the balance in Yanzhou will be broken. At that time, Liu Bei, the troublemaker, may come to interfere again, and Yuan Shaoke will really be passive by then.

Just when Yuan Shao was in a panic, Ju Shou came to see him.

After the salute, Jushou looked at Yuan Shao, who was frowning, and asked: "Your Majesty, are you worried about the outcome of the battle in Bingzhou?"

Yuan Shao rubbed his eyebrows and said with a headache: "Ran Ye."

Jushou smiled slightly and said, "I have a plan that may solve the danger of annexing the state!"

(End of this chapter)