The Jagged Cavalry of the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 156 Chapter 156 Two Strategies
Zhang Yan took the letter written by Chen Deng from Zhang Zhao and read it hastily.

But see Chen Deng wrote in the letter: "Ming Gong sees the words as if you have met, Deng, it has been more than half a month since he was ordered by Ming Gong to go south to assist Liu Yao. Now I will report what I saw and heard in Jiangdong in the past half month. To tell you the truth, after seeing it, Duke Ming, please make a decision as soon as possible. Although Liu Yao, the governor of Yangzhou, has the ability to govern the local area, he has no skill in commanding troops and generals. Yuan Shu's general Sun Ce is brave and good at fighting. Zhou Yu, Lu Fan, Sun Ce Jing, Zhu Zhi and others advised him, and Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Huang Gai, Sun Ben, Sun He and others were his minions. Since crossing the river, they have won successive victories and gained a great reputation. He kept recruiting troops and buying horses, his strength greatly increased, and he had the potential to sweep Jiangdong. Liu Yao couldn't use people, so that the talents in the three counties of Danyang, Kuaiji, and Wu all thought of a master. If Sun Ce defeated Liu Yao, he would pacify the rest of the country Everywhere, once Jiangdong is occupied, it will be difficult to compete with it, and it will become a serious problem for our army. Deng believes that Xuzhou is the place of the Four Wars. There are no natural dangers and passes to defend. We can only attack everywhere and support the war with war. , is the best policy. Jiangdong is a land of outstanding people, rather than allowing Sun Ce to occupy it, it is better for Minggong to take it himself. At this time Liu Yao is in distress, Minggong can lead the army across the river in the name of reinforcements, and after repelling Sun Ce, he can join Swallow Liu Yao. If the Duke of Ming wins Jiangdong, with the people of Wu and Yue, as well as the lands of Xuzhou, Qingzhou, and Yanzhou, he will be able to win the Central Plains and compete for the hegemony in the world. His words are heartfelt, and I hope that the Duke of Ming will decide as soon as possible !"

After reading this letter, Zhang Yan's mood was surging, and he admired Chen Deng's strategic vision very much.

Seeing Zhang Yan's expression after reading the letter, Zhang Zhao asked curiously, "My lord, what does the letter say? Do you want my lord to send rescuers?"

Zhang Yan then handed the letter to Zhang Zhao, and said slowly, "Let's take a look at each other first."

Zhang Zhao took the letter, read it quickly, and then handed it to Chen Qun. After Chen Qun read it, he said to Zhang Yan: "I don't know how my lord should respond to Chen Yuanlong's letter?"

Zhang Yan didn't answer, but asked someone to call Zhang Hong and Chen Gui to discuss important matters.

After Zhang Hong and Chen Gui came to the hall, Zhang Yan asked Chen Qun and Zhang Zhao to tell Zhang Hong and Chen Gui about the current situation.

Chen Gui believed that Guo Gong's attack on Qiao County, the governor of Yuzhou, was a trivial matter, and it was enough to send any general to repel Guo Gong.However, he very much agreed with his son Chen Deng's proposal, thinking that it was the best time to send troops to Jiangdong on the grounds of helping Liu Yao, and he also agreed with Chen Deng's grand strategic construction of occupying Jiangdong and connecting it with Xuzhou.

Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong also agreed with Chen Deng's suggestion. Both Zhang Zhao and Zhang Hong believed that Jiangdong was a treasure land and suggested that Zhang Yan should take it as soon as possible.

After Zhang Yan listened to what Chen Gui, Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Hong had said, seeing that Chen Qun hadn't spoken, he asked, "Changwen, what's your opinion?"

Chen Qun replied: "My lord, the views of my subordinates are completely different from those of the adults..."

Zhang Yan was a little surprised, and said, "Oh, let's hear it."

Chen Qun said "Hey" and said slowly: "In the past few months, our army has spent a lot of money and food due to the continuous battles. This year, because of the severe drought, Xuzhou's grain harvest has been in short supply, and other places have also suffered riots. There was a famine, and in order to relieve the victims, the lord has provided a lot of food for treatment. Now, our army has just defeated Cao Cao and occupied Yanzhou. Yanzhou is broken, and it is time to use money and food. , I'm afraid that there will be some shortage of money and food..."

Hearing this, Zhang Yan immediately interrupted Chen Qun's words and asked, "When I took over Xuzhou from Tao Shijun, someone did some statistics, and the grain in the granary was overflowing, and the government The treasury’s money is in the hundreds of millions. At that time, I asked Mi Zhu to make an estimate. Even if our army does nothing, these family assets alone are enough for our army to feed and use for three years. How come it’s only a few months? Just say that money and food are not good?"

Chen Qun was not only the prefect of Pengcheng, but also Zhang Yan's right-hand man in charge of food and grass. Mi Zhu was in charge of money, and Chen Qun was in charge of food. The two complemented each other, so there were many correspondences.

Hearing Zhang Yan's question, Chen Qun replied: "When my lord took over Xuzhou Mu, there was indeed a lot of money and food in the Xuzhou treasury, but in the past few months, our army has fought repeatedly, and suffered drought and locust plagues one after another. , A lot of food has been provided to relieve the victims. Not only that, our army has doubled its strength this year to reach [-] people, and the daily rations it needs to consume are also doubled in the past. We have also mobilized to Qingzhou and Yanzhou Food, grass and military pay, each of these expenses, is recorded one by one by the subordinates, if the lord does not believe it, you can consult the book."

Zhang Yan frowned after hearing Chen Qun's explanation, and asked, "How much food does our army have?"

"I don't know the money, but there is really not much food left. There are only about 15 shi left, which is enough for our army for a year. If we want to mobilize food and grass to Yanzhou, then our army will only have half a year's food left." It is." Chen Qun said.

Zhang Yan didn't talk anymore, he didn't expect his expenses to be so huge in the past few months, and he even spent the two years of Tao Qian's accumulated money and food in one fell swoop.

Fighting is really about strength!
Chen Qun went on to say: "My lord, my subordinates are opposed to competing for Jiangdong not only because of money and food, but also because of other reasons. Jiangdong is a barren land, and the local mountain people are tough and brave. The people are often unwilling to accept the government's management. At least they violently resist the law, and at the worst they gather the people to make troubles, and what's more, they even gather crowds to besiege the official mansion. These mountain people are descendants of the ancient Yue nationality, so they are called Shanyue. "

After a pause, Chen Qun continued: "Shanyue usually cultivates in the valley, and knows how to use copper and iron to make weapons, armor, and agricultural tools. They are scattered in large groups and live in small groups. They are fond of martial arts. The leader has many titles such as "Shuai", "Dashuai", "Zongshuai" and so on, and has repeatedly attacked the settlements where the Han people live. Therefore, even if our army occupies Jiangdong, it cannot fully own its land. Instead, we must always be on guard against Shanyue Attack. If our army goes to the mountains to encircle and suppress them once they start a war with Shanyue, it is very likely that we will fall into the quagmire of war."

"The subordinates thought that instead of going on an expedition to Jiangdong, it would be better to attack Yuzhou. Now that the counties in Yuzhou are governing each other, and there are remnants of the Yellow Turbans making troubles, this is the best time to attack Yuzhou. The lord's reputation is far and wide, and everyone in Yuzhou has already known it. , if the lord leads the army in person, everyone in the counties in Yuzhou will be in danger, and they will surrender after hearing the wind, and they can occupy it without spending any troops. There is an old saying that those who win the Central Plains win the world. In Yuzhou, my lord can use Qingzhou, Xuzhou, Yanzhou, and Yuzhou as the foundation, and if Yuan Shu in Huainan is pacified, then he can aspire to the top of the world."

Zhang Yan, Zhang Zhao, Zhang Hong, and Chen Gui all listened to the truth, what Chen Qun said was also impassioned and powerful.

From these words alone, Zhang Yan can understand that Chen Qun's strategic plan is to let him use the Central Plains as the foundation.

One is to let him assess the situation and take advantage of the situation to occupy Jiangdong, and the other is to let him weigh the pros and cons and occupy the Central Plains.Although the two strategic plans are different, they are both for his sake.

But in Zhang Yan's heart, he wanted to occupy both Jiangdong and the Central Plains.

After thinking for a while, Zhang Yan finally said, "Whether it's occupying Jiangdong or occupying the Central Plains, it's all for the sake of our army. From the current point of view, the situation in the Central Plains is clear. Apart from Yuan Shu in Huainan, our army has no one else." Opponent. However, Yuan Shu has many generals and strong strength. If our army sends troops to Yuzhou, Yuan Shu will definitely take advantage of the momentum. At that time, our army will inevitably fall into a situation of confronting Yuan Shu. It is also difficult to defeat Yuan Shu, but will gradually fall into a protracted war. On the contrary, Sun Ce did not bring many soldiers and horses with him when he went to capture Jiangdong. Speaking of it, it is easier to deal with Sun Ce at this stage, but it is more difficult to deal with Yuan Shu, and if Sun Ce wins Jiangdong, the harm will be far greater than Yuan Shu. Therefore, I decided to send troops to Jiangdong, and first repel Sun Ce. You can’t act too hastily, you can only think about it in the long run.”

After these words were finished, Chen Qun, Chen Gui, Zhang Zhao, and Zhang Hong all felt that the analysis was in place.

Chen Qun said: "Since the lord and princess have made up their minds, the subordinates have nothing to say. We can only wish the lord the victory of the banner and success. However, if the lord sends troops to Jiangdong, what should we do with the attack on Qiao County by Guo Gong, governor of Yuzhou?"

Zhang Yan thought for a while, and then said: "Qiao County is Xu Chu's hometown, so we should send Xu Chu to lead five thousand troops and return to Qiao County to repel Guo Gong. However, Xu Chu has always been reckless, he can only be a general, not a leader... "

Speaking of this, Zhang Yan looked around and said to Chen Gui: "This matter still needs to be troubled by Chen Biejia himself. Chen Biejia will lead the army and lead Xu Chu to Qiao County. How about letting Chen Biejia be the Prime Minister of the Pei Kingdom and stay in Qiao County to see what's going on in the Central Plains?"

Chen Gui cupped his fists and said, "Here!"

The plan was decided, so Zhang Yan asked Chen Qun to prepare food and grass, and then asked Zhang Zhao to write a reply letter to Chen Deng, telling Chen Deng that if he persisted in Moling for a while, he would lead his army to Jiangdong soon.

In addition, Zhang Yan wrote another letter to Mi Zhu and sent someone to send it over, asking Mi Zhu to prepare some military pay and send someone to transport it to Jiangdu in Guangling County. From there, he will lead his army across the Yangtze River to defend Jiangdong. Sun Ce.

After the meeting was over, Zhang Yan summoned Tai Shici again, and asked Tai Shici to order five thousand soldiers and horses to go out with him.

After finishing these things, Zhang Yan had some free time, and returned from the front hall to the back hall to visit his wife Mi Zhen whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

(End of this chapter)