I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 181 I Lost Myself in the Sound of Pretty Boys
Since Bai Rao had already stepped forward to mediate, and on the premise of common interests, Yu Du and Sui Gu naturally went along with it and started talking about business in a stumbling manner.

Du was the strongest among the three, so he naturally took the lead in this battle. At the same time, he also reminded Bai Rao and Sui Gu: "I think someone deliberately released the news about Yanzhou, hoping to lure the wolf into the house and use us to contain Liu Dai."

"Could it be that there is internal discord in Yanzhou and someone wants to seize the position of governor?"

Bai Rao and Sui Gu were able to become local heroes and survive until now without being wiped out by the government troops. Naturally, they were not fools, so they both felt that there must be something fishy about this matter.

Don't think they are idiots just because they started out as humble men and spent all day carrying swords and carrying machetes to fight and kill.

In fact, every Yellow Turban general who has survived to the present is a smart man. Those who are brainless have long been wiped out by Lu Zhi, Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song.

Therefore, as soon as Yu Du opened his mouth, Bai Rao and Sui Gu realized that there must be some conspiracy behind the matter.

"Old Poison Ghost, do you know who is secretly stirring up trouble?"

"I don't know."

Yu Du simply shook his head. After all, he was not a top strategist, and he did not have enough sources of intelligence, so he naturally could not judge the reason for the change in the situation.

After hearing this, Sui Gu glared at him and said, "What are you talking about? Now, whether to have the abortion or not, just give us a definite answer, don't be so fussy."

"We must fight for sure."

Yu Du answered without hesitation, and it was obvious that he would not give up this piece of fat meat that was delivered to his mouth: "Whatever chaos happened in Yanzhou, we don't need to care. Since the other party dared to let the wolf into the house, we will give him a hard time."

"That's right, why think so much, just do it."

Sui Gu grinned, his expression becoming more ferocious and terrifying. He looked at Yu Du and Bai Rao and said, "Since we want to cooperate, we should discuss how to distribute the spoils first, so as to avoid a rebellion in the middle of a fight."

Yu Du and Bai Rao looked at each other. Neither of them really thought that Sui Gu was a reckless man.

Some people are reckless because they have no brains.

Some people are reckless just to take advantage of their reckless personality.

So on the issue of spoils, the three parties refused to give in and engaged in a fierce debate.

Yanzhou Dongjun, with its capital in Puyang.

Inside the prefect's mansion, Qiao Mao, with his hair disheveled, was pinned to the ground by a group of soldiers.

Looking at the bruises on his face, you can tell that he suffered a lot just now.

"Wang Gong, you killed a minister of the imperial court without authorization. You should know that this is a capital crime!"

"Haha, you are still so arrogant even when you are about to die, Qiao Yuanwei, do you think you are still the governor of Dongjun?"

Wang Gong looked down at Qiao Mao, who had become a prisoner, with a sneer of disdain on his face: "The governor has ordered that you be dismissed and investigated."

"Dismiss and investigate? Liu Dai clearly wants me dead, right? What about the Han royal family? What a joke! I think you are just a bunch of traitors!"

Even though he knew he was going to die, Qiao Mao still refused to bow to Liu Dai.

The friendship they had when they fought against Dong Zhuo together had now disappeared. Perhaps it was because Qiao Mao was the initiator of the fight against Dong Zhuo and had such a great reputation that he became a thorn in Liu Dai's side and was regarded as a threat, so he had to be killed to eliminate future troubles.

Qiao Mao was not stupid. With his wisdom, he saw this point, so he did not waste his time trying to beg for mercy. Instead, before he died, he looked up to the sky and laughed: "Wang Gong, Liu Dai, in the underworld, I, Qiao Mao, will be waiting for you to go on the road together!"

"With you, you want to drag me down with you? Haha, you really don't know what you are talking about."

Wang Gong was dismissive of Qiao Mao's last words.

A few days later, the governor of Dongjun, Qiao Mao, was ordered to be executed by Liu Dai, the governor of Yanzhou.

Later, Liu Dai appointed Wang Gong to take over the post of governor of Dongjun and began to eliminate Qiao Mao's influence in the local area.

However, before Wang Gong could even get comfortable in his position, Yu Du, Bai Rao and Sui Gu, who heard about the turmoil in Dongjun, immediately joined forces and attacked.

One hundred thousand Yellow Turban troops marched across the mountains and plains, sweeping across the entire Yanzhou land from the northwest like a huge wave.

At the same time, the Yellow Turban Army of Qingzhou also responded to Du's call and launched an attack together. There were also 100,000 young and strong men and millions of refugees, with a fierce momentum and awe-inspiring power.

Under the pincer attack from the two Yellow Turban armies in the east and west, the entire Yanzhou was suddenly in danger.

"Brothers, charge into Puyang and enjoy the wine and meat!"

Yu Du personally led his troops to attack fiercely. In the combat system of the Black Mountain Army, his troops had the strictest military discipline and fought the bravest. When they were rampant in Henan, Hebei and other places, it could be said that "wherever the righteous army went, the counties and prefectures could not stop it, and the imperial court could not suppress it."

Now, Puyang’s former Dongjun prefect Qiao Mao had just been killed, and the new prefect Wang Gong had not yet established enough prestige, and the defenders had no morale at all.

Therefore, Puyang was captured on the third day.

"The city has been breached, charge in!"

Yu Du, wearing heavy armor and holding a steel knife, personally led his troops into the city. He swung his knife fiercely, and his ferocious sword skills forced the defenders to retreat step by step. Soon the prefectural mansion was also lost and fell in the thick smoke.

Wang Gong was brought in front of Yu Du, trembling like a quail.

A few days ago, Qiao Mao was also like him, imprisoned, with his life and death in the hands of others.

Unexpectedly, the situation changed so quickly and now it was his turn to be imprisoned.

"Are you Wang Gong?"

Yu Du looked at Wang Gong coldly, grinned, and mocked him loudly in front of everyone: "What a rubbish celebrity! Take him away and chop him off."

"Yes!"

The Yellow Turban soldiers around were all from the lower class of the people and had been exploited and persecuted by the aristocratic families. Therefore, they naturally had no good feelings towards people like Wang Gong who came from a prominent family.

Sui Gu and Bai Rao also entered the prefectural governor's mansion and were shocked by the luxury here. They were dumbfounded: "My eyes were almost blinded. Aren't these officials too rich? How come this prefectural governor's mansion is built like a palace?"

The grandeur and splendor of the prefect's mansion gave the two men a visual sensation of being dazzled by a profusion of flowers, and they were deeply intoxicated by the wealth and splendor represented by the vermilion walls and green tiles.

Among the three, only Yu Du had some knowledge. Now that the war was over, he couldn't help but taunt Sui Gu: "Have you ever seen the imperial palace?"

When Sui Gu heard this, he became unhappy, waving the sword in his hand and shouting arrogantly: "Humph, it's just the imperial palace, what's so great about it? Sooner or later, I will rush into Luoyang and chop off the old emperor's head."

Bai Rao almost rolled his eyes after hearing this: "Stop bragging. You are going to charge into Luoyang. Can you defeat Marquis Qi? Besides, the current emperor is not an old man, but a teenage kid."

"Marquis Qi is nothing, he just didn't run into me, otherwise I would have killed him with one blow!"

Sui Gu was obviously very unconvinced.

Yu Du was too lazy to listen to their nonsense and quarrels, and instead talked about post-war matters: "Now that Puyang has been conquered, I will first establish a rule..."

"What rules are we setting? Didn't we agree beforehand that we would have a three-day plundering period?"

Sui Gu said in a rough voice. It was obvious that the first thing he thought of after the victory was to rob and make money.

The armies of this era, let alone the Yellow Turban Army, even the imperial army often had to allow soldiers to plunder in order to maintain high morale.

After all, productivity was low, and the court's finances were stretched thin just by spending money on wars, not to mention pensions and rewards after the war.

If you can't come up with the money, it's useless to say anything.

The Yellow Turban Army itself was mainly composed of refugees, and the vanguard were bandits and robbers, so burning, killing, looting, etc. were their old profession and traditional skills.

However, Yu Du still insisted on his opinion: "It's not that we can't rob, what I mean is that we should only rob the rich and powerful. The poor people don't have much money anyway, so why not drag them along to rob the officials and the rich? This way, we can take the opportunity to expand our team."

It must be said that Yu Du is quite knowledgeable, at least he knows what his base is and he also pays attention to expanding his team. In the Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army, Yu Du is also one of the few rebel generals with strategic thinking. From his openly raising the banner of "resisting the officers and soldiers, fighting the rich and helping the poor, and protecting the peasants", it can be seen that he is a man with ideas.

By April, Yu Du, Bai Rao, Sui Gu and others continued to lead their troops to attack Wei County.

The news that the prefect Wang Gong had been killed also reached Changyi.

Yanzhou, Changyi City, Governor's Mansion.

Liu Dai has been in a very good mood recently. The prominent families under his rule have all praised his governance measures. He feels a little flattered by all the compliments.

However, this good mood did not last long, and a subordinate came to report: "Sir Governor, something terrible has happened. Dongjun has been destroyed, and the governor Wang Gong has died in battle!"

"What did you say!?"

Liu Dai was furious and raged on the spot: "Wang Gong is a piece of shit, he can't even defend a city!"

Puyang is different from other county towns. It is one of the largest cities in Yanzhou. Not only is it adjacent to the Yellow River to the north, with convenient water transportation and prosperous commerce, but the city also has a population of hundreds of thousands. It is the most prosperous and richest city in the entire Dongjun and even in the entire Yanzhou.

Liu Dai handed over Dongjun to Wang Gong in the hope that he could help him manage Yanzhou's purse.

I didn't expect that in just a few days, my wallet would be empty.

However, it was too early for Liu Dai to get angry. Just as he was about to order troops to retake Puyang, his men came to ask for help: "Reporting to the governor, Qingzhou's 100,000 Yellow Turban troops are invading, and Dongping and Rencheng have been lost one after another!"

The bad news kept coming, making Liu Dai even more angry: "Everyone is trash, trash!"

Dongping and Rencheng are the gateways to Yanzhou. If they cannot be recaptured, Changyi will be in danger and difficult to defend.

"Gather the troops immediately. I will lead them personally to defeat the remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in Qingzhou!"

Liu Dai was so angry that he could no longer bear it. The flattery from local celebrities made him arrogant. It was okay for him to lose to Wang Jing, after all, he really could not beat him.

But as the governor of a state, if I can't deal with Wang Jing, can't I deal with you, the remnants of the Yellow Turbans?

Do you really think I’m Liu Daini?

This time, Liu Dai decided to show his prowess. He first defeated the Yellow Turban Army in Qingzhou and then defeated the Black Mountain bandits to prove to everyone that he, Liu Dai Liu Gongshan, was very powerful!

But the army had not yet been assembled. When Yu Jin, who was training his troops, heard the news, he was so scared that he immediately ran to dissuade Liu Dai. Others might not know whether the Yanzhou soldiers could fight, but didn't Yu Jin Yu Wen know?

At the governor's residence, Yu Jin clasped his hands together and said earnestly, "My lord, please think twice. There are currently a million bandits. The people are terrified and shocked. The soldiers have no fighting spirit and are unstoppable. I see that the bandits have a mixed army of soldiers and their families, and they follow them. The bandits have no baggage or food, and they only survive by plundering."

After analyzing the enemy's situation, Yu Jin proposed the correct solution: "The best strategy now is to let the troops recuperate and hold their ground. The enemy will be unable to fight or attack. Once their fighting spirit is weakened, our army will be able to take advantage of their rest and defeat them easily."

Unfortunately, Liu Dai did not accept Yu Jin's advice at all. He insisted on going out of the city to fight the Yellow Turban Army for the sake of face: "I am the governor of Yanzhou. I should focus on protecting the people. How can I avoid fighting? If anyone dares to say that he will not fight, I will kill him without mercy!"

The army gathered in front of Hulao Pass.

Countless baggage and food were transported in carts, filling the granaries and warehouses.

Above the city gate, Wang Jing looked into the distance, and looking far to the east, his eyes were directed to the land of Yanzhou.

Suddenly, a carrier pigeon with gray and white feathers flapped its wings and landed, cooing a few times.

"My lord, this is the battle report from Yanzhou."

"We just arranged some personnel and they were able to send back the message. I didn't expect the secret guards to be so efficient."

Guo Jia stood beside Wang Jing. It was the first time he came into contact with the existence of the secret guards. He had only heard of such an intelligence force before.

"Now that Dongping and Rencheng have been captured, Liu Dai has decided to take the initiative to attack. What do you think?"

Wang Jing handed the battle report in his hand to several advisers around him for circulation.

Attacking Chenliu and taking over northern Henan was a major strategic adjustment by the Northern Army. Prior to this, Wang Jing's attack on Jizhou was mainly for economic and military purposes.

But after Guo Jia's reminder, Wang Jing realized that the lack of talent was the biggest problem facing the Northern Army at present.

Currently, the Northern Army’s territory covers a total of thirteen counties, spanning Bingzhou and Sili.

Bingzhou governed nine prefectures and ninety-eight counties. Zhang Liao was appointed governor of Bingzhou. He had a large army under his command and was supported by the Wang family of Taiyuan. He actually controlled the entire Bingzhou.

The Sili region governed seven prefectures, namely Henan, Henei, Hedong, Hongnong, Jingzhaoyin, Zuofengyi, and Youfufeng, and 106 counties. Wang Jing had already occupied the four prefectures of Henan, Henei, Hedong, and Hongnong with the support of Luoyang. He also used the new policy of land measurement to wipe out the four counties and four families and suppressed all disobedience.

Wang Jing was not actually short of population, resources, money and food, so he was not very urgent to occupy Jizhou, the largest province in the world.

After all, if the occupied territory cannot be well governed and integrated, it will not only not be a benefit, but will become a burden to the Northern Army.

Therefore, Wang Jing summoned the four counselors who were still in Luoyang to discuss strategies together.

In addition to the strategist Xun You, Xi Zhicai, who had just joined, also participated. Even Jia Xu put down his government affairs and attended this military meeting.

Guo Jia was obviously most familiar with the situation in Yanzhou, and he spoke very sharply as soon as he opened his mouth: "Liu Liugongshan is extremely stupid. Yanzhou has neither a capable army nor a peerless general who can turn the tide. How can we quickly suppress the rebellion? The most correct choice should be to hold the city and wait for the enemy to defeat themselves."

Xi Zhicai agreed with Guo Jia's opinion: "What Fengxiao said is true. The Yellow Turbans are just a group of bandits. They lack food and logistical supplies. They are only able to win now because of their temporary courage. As long as we can stop the first wave of attacks and clear the fields, within half a year, the bandits will be forced to retreat due to lack of food."

"Once the rebels retreat, we only need a few thousand people to follow and chase them. It will be easy to defeat a hundred thousand people. Why do we need to risk our lives and fight the enemy head-on? I don't know how Liu Gongshan, such an incompetent fool, got the position of governor."

Guo Jia's evaluation of Liu Dai was so merciless that he did not show any mercy to him and criticized him harshly.

Afterwards, Wang Jing signaled Xun You to tell Guo Jia and others the news of Cao Cao and Chen Gong's secret cooperation, and also asked him what strategy he had to break the alliance between Cao Cao and Chen Gong.

After hearing this, Guo Jia frowned and thought carefully, and soon came up with an idea: "If Chen Gong and Cao Cao are really colluding, then Liu Dai will surely die if he leaves the city."

Obviously, Guo Jia saw at a glance that Liu Dai had been tricked.

It is not difficult for a wise person to design and manipulate a person's behavior through words.

It's like an ugly guy. If people around him call him handsome every day, he will probably really think that he is not ugly at all.

At the moment, Liu Dai has lost himself in the constant calls of "handsome boy" from the advisers around him and can't tell his own worth.

Yanzhou had neither elite soldiers nor powerful generals, and Liu Dai suffered several defeats. The Black Mountain Yellow Turban Army and the Qingzhou Yellow Turban Army, with a total force of 200,000, attacked Yanzhou from the east and west.

Even if there is a lot of water in these 200,000 troops, how many soldiers in Yanzhou can fight?

Their strength is definitely much weaker than that of the Yellow Turban Army!

But in this situation, Liu Dai did not defend but chose to attack. It can be seen that there must be a lot of tricks behind this matter. Liu Dai is either born mentally retarded or was secretly instigated by someone to do so.

Anyone with a normal mind would not confront the Yellow Turban Army under such circumstances.

So from the moment Liu Dai chose to leave the city, Guo Jia had already foreseen that Liu Dai would inevitably fail.

After receiving the intelligence reminder from Wang Jing, Guo Jia continued to deduce in his mind and soon guessed the plans and ideas of Chen Gong and Cao Cao.

Guo Jia closed his eyes and pondered for a moment, then made a judgment: "Based on the current situation, Cao Cao is probably ready to go north to take Yanzhou at any time. And to take Yanzhou in one fell swoop, Cao Cao must have the full support of Zhang Miao and other Yanzhou families."

Wang Jing was not surprised to hear this. If it were according to the original historical route, Cao Cao would have successfully captured Yanzhou around this point in time and obtained the "first pot of gold" for his true entrepreneurship.

Since he knew there was an advantage to be gained, Wang Jing would not give such an opportunity to others: "Feng Xiao, in your opinion, how should our army act?"

Wang Jing was also very much looking forward to Guo Jia's strategy.

Guo Jia did not disappoint Wang Jing, and gave a suggestion with confidence: "Jia's strategy can be summed up in four words: attack when the enemy is halfway across the river."

(End of this chapter)