I practiced magic in the Three Kingdoms

Although there will inevitably be damage in the Battle of Pengcheng, it is obviously unavoidable. It can also be regarded as accumulating experience for the next major war. If it is not taken, more garrison troops will have to be mobilized and a large number of people will be used to maintain the long transportation line.

Therefore, this war was inevitable. In China's war history, foreign wars were basically launched directly, and it was rare to fight in a roundabout way.

There is a reason why you should not easily choose to attack from behind, no matter whether the enemy is strong or weak.

The first is that the pressure on logistics transportation is even greater, and the defenders can send troops to attack the food routes at any time and anywhere.

As for the second reason, it is necessary to open the city to obtain the city’s money, food and supplies in case of emergency.

As an agricultural civilization, China has been very good at war since ancient times, especially the Qin and Han dynasties. They were full of martial virtues when facing nomadic civilizations. Except for the early founding emperor Liu Bang, there were very few situations where they were unable to defeat the Hu people. Basically, the Hu people were beaten down, leaving behind the reputation of "the Han Dynasty alone perished because of its strength."

The most important point is that the Han Dynasty established a powerful military logistics system.

The operation of strategic materials in the Yanhan Dynasty was more advanced than that of other nations of the same period. Unlike nomadic peoples who came and went like the wind, the Han army, which was mainly composed of infantry, would often lose a war due to food and fodder problems, especially on a long front. After capturing a city, accumulating enough supplies and fighting to support the war was undoubtedly a good strategy.

This is actually a limitation brought by the environment. The times could not provide the army with so many route options. Unlike modern times, the road conditions in ancient times were far from being so good. There were rich vegetation and numerous forests. If they wanted to take a detour, they would undoubtedly have to open up another road, which was not allowed by cost and time. It would be better to lose more troops and capture the city.

Outside Xia Pi City, Wang Jing’s army camp.

Wang Jing summoned Guo Jia, Xun You, Zhang Fei, Taishi Ci, Dian Wei and others to discuss war strategies.

"You thought that we should organize craftsmen from among the army and the civilians, go to Xia Pi and cut down trees, and then attack Shucheng after we are fully prepared."

Xun You looked at the map and gave suggestions.

Guo Jia agreed and said, "I think it's feasible. At most, we can recruit local craftsmen and win over their hearts."

Zhang Fei shook his head, "Not right. Wouldn't it give the Xia Pi defenders enough time to react? If the enemy takes this opportunity to reinforce the city defense, our army will be at a disadvantage in attacking. Don't forget that Tao Qian still has more than 30,000 troops, and elite forces like the Danyang soldiers can be called upon. If we delay the opportunity, and the news of Xia Pi City reaches Tancheng, we will have to retreat temporarily."

Guo Jia didn't take it seriously: "Sharpening the knife doesn't delay the chopping of wood..."

"However, our army does not have much time left. You know, taking Shucheng is only the first step. We must quickly integrate the city's manpower and financial resources, and try to mobilize the forces of nearby counties to cooperate."

Zhang Fei was obviously anxious to make a contribution. As Jizhou was in civil strife now, he had nothing to do guarding Dongjun, so he applied to go to Xuzhou for a battle. He didn't want to return empty-handed.

When Wang Jing was away on the battlefield, he always allowed everyone to speak freely when discussing war matters, and everyone on the scene had a say, which meant more ideas. However, Wang Jing's army was also a highly disciplined force, and once a military order was issued, they would ignore other voices and execute it resolutely.

Everyone in the big tent had their own opinions, but outside there were inopportune noises and faint sounds of fighting and shouting. Under such circumstances, the meeting could no longer proceed.

Wang Jing suppressed the laughter of the generals and said, "Everyone, wait a moment and see what happened first."

After saying this, Wang Jing led his men out of the tent. When they saw the person causing the trouble, they found out that it was Zhang Kai who had been captured some time ago.

Wang Jing thought Zhang Kai was of great use to him, so he attached great importance to him.

Therefore, he had ordered the soldiers to take good care of Zhang Kai, and he was quite free on the march. Except for five or six big men who monitored him closely every day, as long as he did not leave the range of the army, they would not say much.

After receiving Wang Jing's instructions, Zhang Kai was quite at ease. He even had a meal of meat every two days. He did not have the slightest intention of escaping. Although Zhang Kai was brave, he had no weapons. The people who supervised him were all Wang Jing's personal guards, and swords and guns could actually kill people.

When Wang Jing came out, he saw Zhang Kai wrestling with several people who were guarding him. Wow, these people were also some of the fierce soldiers in the army that Wang Jing knew. They were good at stick martial arts and had already reached the peak of the third realm of martial arts. They were only half a step away from the fourth realm. They were quite famous among the Qingzhou soldiers. The only one who could suppress them was a first-class general like Taishi Ci.

But now this person was beaten black and blue, looking very embarrassed.

Although they were afraid to kill Zhang Kai because they were worried about his life, Zhang Kai still had the upper hand when several of them fought with bare hands.

Standing in the crowd, Zhang Kai punched with his fists like a tiger, and his strength was so mysterious that even Wang Jing couldn't help but secretly admire him: "This man is quite capable. No wonder he can leave his name in history."

Although Zhang Kai is not well-known in the Three Kingdoms period, he actually changed the course of the history of the Three Kingdoms to a certain extent.

Wang Jing saw that Zhang Kai had a beard under his chin, was wearing cloth clothes, and had a rough and fierce face. Although he was outnumbered, he did not show any signs of fatigue. Instead, no one dared to approach him.

Wang Jing was already an expert in martial arts, so he could tell that Zhang Kai had not actually intended to use any ruthless force but only wanted to teach those soldiers a lesson.

When Wang Jing saw this, he immediately waved his hand and shouted, "Stop!"

Seeing that it was Wang Jing who spoke, the Qingzhou soldiers present did not dare to act rashly and stopped immediately.

When Zhang Kai saw someone shouting to stop him, he asked, "Is that guy Wang Jing?"

Several guards shouted, "Don't be rude!"

Wang Jing smiled, stepped forward and looked at Zhang Kai: "It's okay, I am Wang Jing, I wonder if you have any advice for me, brave man?"

Zhang Kai shouted, "You are such a fool. Now that you have captured me, you don't want to kill me, and you don't want to let me go. How can this be reasonable?"

Wang Jing looked indifferently, but condescendingly: "I see that you are extraordinary and a rare military talent. I am willing to recruit you, but I am busy, so I have to bear with you."

Since he wants someone to risk his life, Wang Jing will naturally treat him with respect. After all, the other party has some skills. How can he be summoned and sent away at will?

Although Zhang Kai was a rough man, he could tell good from bad. Wang Jing's attitude made him feel somewhat pleased with himself. He felt that he had just spoken out of turn. "Marquis Qi has a good method in commanding troops and fighting. All his men are heroes..."

Before Zhang Kai finished speaking, Wang Jing interrupted him with a wave of his hand. "Let's not talk about this for now. As far as I know, although you were taken prisoner, the army treated you well and provided you with food and wine. You were not abused at all. How could you have such a dirty mind and started a fight with my soldiers?"

Zhang Kai just said nonchalantly: "I just came to the town to taste a few sips of wine, who would have thought you would be so stingy?"

A guard with a bruised face said, "My lord, don't listen to this scoundrel's nonsense. Drinking is a small matter. Although our army does not allow drinking, this guy is not from our Qingzhou camp, so we won't treat him harshly!"

Wang Jing was immediately curious: "Why? Please tell me slowly."

Wang Jing saw that Zhang Kai was being vague and evasive, so he knew that this guy was unreliable. But then he heard the soldier start to curse, "In recent days, our army has been camping outside the city, and the lord has also ordered that we can go out for half an hour every day to buy goods, as long as we don't violate military law and trade fairly. But this guy is so bad, he must be going out to buy wine."

"We couldn't persuade him, so we agreed. But after he had eaten and drunk his fill, we discovered that he had stolen our money to buy wine."

Wang Jing looked at Zhang Kai with a helpless look. This fellow was quite clever. He never mentioned the theft of money. When Zhang Kai heard it, he immediately started to complain about himself.

"How can you blame me for this? Of course I had to find some wine to drink when I was craving it, but I was too shy to drink and I was tempted by alcohol, so I did it. But I didn't know how to control my drinking and I drank a few more sips without knowing how to control myself. When I paid the bill, I took out four purses at once. Otherwise, how would you have found out..."

Wang Jing didn't care about it. He laughed at Zhang Kai and said, "You rascal, you are so righteous when you say something that you are wrong. What else do you have to say now?"

Zhang Kai was not afraid: "At worst I'll just have to pay you back in silver."

When he said this, even this rough and rascally man couldn't help blushing. If he had the money to return it to those people, he, Uncle Zhang Kai, was so powerful in Pengcheng. Why would he need to steal money to buy wine?
He never paid for his drinking!

Now the tiger is in trouble and is bullied by the dog. It's really infuriating.

Everyone burst into laughter, and Wang Jing also seemed to be unable to hold back his laughter. Zhang Kai naturally knew what everyone was laughing at, and his face turned red: "What are you laughing at? I will return it to you when I become rich and powerful in the future!" Wang Jing had just seen that Zhang Kai was young, but he looked like an experienced person. However, he was not a bad person at heart, so he advised: "I see that you are not a hero that five ordinary people can get close to, and you are quite knowledgeable in military affairs. Why did you join Tao Qian's army?"

Zhang Kai couldn't help but say with emotion when he heard this: "I am originally from Runan. My family was poor since I was young. Under natural disasters and man-made calamities, I was left alone to survive in the world. To avoid the war, I fled north. When I arrived at Xiapi, I heard that Xuzhou Governor Tao Qian was recruiting troops to fight against the Yellow Turban Army, so I joined the army and was promoted to the rank of captain because of my military achievements."

Wang Jing frowned upon hearing this, but then he said to Zhang Kai: "My army is in need of men now, and I hope you can serve me. I dare not say anything else. I will also grant you the position of captain. You can do it first. If you are really capable, I will guarantee you a position in the future. How about that?"

Zhang Kai had nowhere to go at the moment. Where could he go if he refused at this time?
What's more, Wang Jing was very generous and directly sent out a captain.

Wang Jing's personal martial arts and past achievements were obvious to all. Zhang Kai knew very well that if he missed such an opportunity, it would never come back.

Happiness came too suddenly. Zhang Kai found it hard to believe. He stared at Wang Jing and said, "Don't lie to me!"

Zhang Kai had been tempted a long time ago. Under Tao Qian, he was just a captain, far from being Tao Qian's confidant, let alone loyal. Moreover, he had seen the Jingping Army's military pay once, which was not only higher than that of ordinary troops, but also distributed by special grain and fodder officers without any deduction.

In the past, wasn’t it always this guy Cao Bao who withheld most of our military pay?

As for various incidents of drinking soldiers' blood, they are indeed very common in this era and there are many different forms of them.

Wang Jing untied his money bag and took out four strings of cash. He said, "Here are four strings of cash. How about that as your military pay for this month?"

Zhang Kai's eyes widened, and then he laughed: "It's already the end of the month, and serving in your army can actually earn so much salary?"

A guard beside Wang Jing said, "The soldiers under my command will definitely receive the full amount of money, and there will never be any deduction."

Zhang Kai prostrated himself on the ground in gratitude and said, "I am Zhang Kai, the humble general, and I am willing to serve you at your service in the future!"

Wang Jing helped Zhang Kai up, and saw Zhang Kai took out two strings of money and handed them to the Qingzhou soldiers who had just scuffled with him: "I stole your money last time, I apologize to you, please don't mind!"

After he finished speaking, several soldiers from the Yellow Turbans also laughed heartily: "Although you are a heavy drinker, you are also a good man. Now that you have paid back the money, our grudge is written off!"

"Okay, that's straightforward. I, Zhang Kai, have made friends with all of you!"

Wang Jing laughed and said, "That's great. Where is Zhang Kai?"

"exist!"

Zhang Kai looked at Wang Jing in confusion. Wang Jing said seriously, "Since you are under my command, you must follow my military rules and laws. You stole money first, but considering that you are not being pursued and have returned the money, I will let you go for now!"

"But you fought with the soldiers in the army. According to military law, you should be punished with ten military sticks. You also disturbed the military tent, and you should be punished with another ten sticks, a total of twenty military sticks. Are you convinced?"

Zhang Kai said hurriedly: "I was not your soldier before, and what happened before does not count. It does not count."

When he heard that he was going to be beaten, Zhang Kai's rascally nature was revealed again: "I'm joining now, and I promise I won't do it again in the future."

Wang Jing's face was stern, leaving him no room for bargaining: "It seems that your attitude of admitting your mistakes is not sincere enough, then add ten more sticks."

Zhang Kai wanted to argue, but seeing that Wang Jing seemed to be adding more pressure, he quickly admitted his mistake: "Yes, yes, I am thick-skinned and willing to accept the punishment."

Everyone present couldn't help laughing when they saw it.

Xiao Jian led his troops to come to the rescue, climbed to the top of Xia Pi City, and looked at the enemy camp in the distance.

He was from Donghai and served as the Prime Minister of Langya. In Xuzhou, he was also a small prince. Unlike Cao Bao, an outsider who needed to rely on Tao Qian, although he had the same status as Cao Bao and was deeply trusted by Tao Qian, he always obeyed orders and not announcements, and was considered a powerful force that ran rampant in the local area.

In reality, Xiao Jian just lacks a title. He is the real powerful faction in Xuzhou.

At this moment, Xiao Jian's mentality was extremely inflated. Coming to rescue Xia Pi City was the first step in Xiao Jian's expansion.

After entering Xia Pi City, Xiao Jian did not send troops to attack immediately, but slowly ordered the army to set up camp, and the camping site was chosen on the bank of the river.

The flags that connected the sky were then spread out, and from front to back, left to right, five armies, with a total of more than ten thousand people, came down like this.

Although Xiao Jian was arrogant, he had the capital to do so. With such an army and horses here, anyone would have been arrogant. However, Xiao Jian was not completely ignorant of military affairs. Wang Jing's army that came to attack Xia Pi was definitely a tough nut to crack.

He knew very well that it would be difficult to get it without paying a certain price.

But he also had a plan. Xia Pi City was one of the strongest cities in Xuzhou and was surrounded by water on two sides. Such cities had been important military locations since ancient times.

At this time, the people in Xia Pi City were in panic and uneasy, especially the wealthy families who had money and food, who were even more afraid that Wang Jing's army would break through the city and occupy Xia Pi.

"Hey, have you heard that after Pengcheng was captured, all the wealthy families in the city were murdered by the treacherous minister Wang Yuanxu, and countless families were destroyed."

"Alas, in times of chaos there will always be evildoers. I heard that this Marquis Qi was born into a distinguished family, but he treated our clan with extreme cruelty, confiscating our property and exterminating our clan at will. He is truly unworthy of a human being."

All the noble families in the city gathered privately to discuss countermeasures.

When Wang Jing captured Pengcheng, he did not harm the common people at all, but he was not polite at all to the aristocratic families.

Those with a slightly better reputation can pay grain and money, and even spend a little money to ensure their safety.

But if the family has a long history of bad deeds and is full of evil, Wang Jing will never show mercy. Wherever he goes, he will hold a public trial and arrest or kill those who deserve to be arrested in front of the people, and confiscate their property.

All the previous ones were taken away, and the remaining food and supplies that were inconvenient to carry were distributed on the spot to ordinary people in Pengcheng.

As a result, Wang Jing suddenly had a lot more guides under his command.

The common people were indeed afraid of the powerful families, but they were obviously more afraid of poverty, so they were more diligent in reporting it than anyone else.

As for the revenge of the aristocratic families afterwards?
At worst, I can just follow Lord Qi!

Nowadays, most people are exploited to the extreme by the powerful and wealthy. Those who have no permanent property have no perseverance, and even if the whole family moves away, they will not feel any burden at all.

On the contrary, the wealthy and powerful families, each with their own family and large assets, can escape the monk but not the temple.

These people, relying on their high status, have been bullying the locals for many years. How can their families be clean and spotless? How many families don't have a few unfilial descendants who bully men and women, lend money to suck blood, and occupy the good land of the poor people?

There is a lot to write about in the matter of land annexation alone. Sometimes, the evidence is too obvious. If Wang Jing had not restrained himself a little and refrained from killing people in large numbers, all the wealthy families in Pengcheng would have been killed.

But even so, the number of wealthy households in Pengcheng has dropped by more than half. Countless heads of wealthy families have lost their heads, and wealthy families have been separated from their wives and children and turned into dust.

After the news spread all the way from Pengcheng to Xia Pi, it naturally caused fear among the wealthy families and made them unable to sleep.

Therefore, Xiao Jian's arrival seemed to be the only remaining hope for these wealthy families. (End of this chapter)