Han Dang is stronger

Chapter 74
When Xiang Kangli decided to take advantage of the victory to capture Tong County and Qulu Ercheng, the total strength of the Young Marshal Army finally broke through the 800 mark.More than 500 people in the army were former soldiers of the Young Marshal Army who participated in the whole process of defending the Prime Minister, another [-] were prisoners of the Qin Army who were semi-forcibly recruited by the Young Marshal Army, and nearly [-] people were under the Prime Minister. Newly recruited soldiers after the war. ——Seeing the victory of the Young Marshal Army and the Qin Army coalition in Tong County, the confidence in the Young Marshal Army has greatly increased. Not only did many low-ranking people who were afraid to join the Young Marshal Army change their course and volunteered to join the army, but many endured it. People in neighboring counties who could not live with the tyranny of Qin II also rushed to join the army, and Xiang Kang, who was in urgent need of strength, would rather indiscriminately accept all orders, so the speed of army expansion was very fast.

Of course, although the expansion of the army is fast, the Young Marshal Army is still a group of rabble that cannot be more typical. Even Xiang Kang himself dare not deny this, but there is no way. There is neither enough time for training nor enough training. Weapons and equipment, there is no way to turn decay into magic, and turn the mob into elite soldiers at once.Xiang Kang also had no choice but to hold the intention of training the team in actual combat, let the army eliminate the weak and preserve the strong through actual combat, and gradually cultivate elite soldiers.

However, there are corresponding benefits in recruiting and recruiting mobs. At least Xiang Kang will not be as stretched as before in dispatching troops. The troops can be left over to Xiang Guan, Xiang Xian, and Xiang Dian, the three sons of the Xiang family to lead the army to defend the city, to ensure the safety of Xiaxiang City, the only old nest at present.At the same time, for the sake of prudence, Xiang Kang decided to bring Zhou Zeng, the former Xiaxiang magistrate, with him on the expedition, leaving behind Sun Gong, who was not as influential and popular as Zhou Zeng, to help Xiang Guan and others govern the government and the people, and presided over the Xiaxiang's autumn harvest.

In order not to give the enemy too much time to prepare for the battle, after hastily preparing for the expedition, the two thousand young marshals set off with Xiang Kang and marched westward with only ten days of food and grass. Launch an attack on Qulu and Tong counties.When choosing the first siege target, Xiang Kang resolutely rejected Zhou Zeng's suggestion to attack Tong County first after repeated consideration. .

Of course, Zhou Zeng, who was very familiar with the situation of the Qin army, was quite puzzled. Even though Xiang Kang had made up his mind, he couldn't help asking: "Young commander, should you think about it again? Gu Bi, the magistrate of Tong County, The prime minister has already died in battle, and the county government is entirely represented by the county prime minister. The prestige is not enough to convince the public. It must be difficult to gather a large number of troops to contend with us in a short period of time. It's the complete opposite of Tong County, why did you choose to choose the easy and the difficult, and fight first?"

"Two reasons." Xiang Kang replied very directly: "The first is that most of the prisoners of war we recruited were soldiers who were forced to join us. They must be worried that their families would be implicated. If we don't capture them first If we try to save their families and make them feel at ease, their homesickness and homesickness may affect the morale of our army. The second is that the county temple of Qulu is complete. If we give the temple too much time to recruit troops Prepare for the battle, and then turn around and fight for fear, it will only be several times more difficult than fighting now."

"But it's harder to fight than Tongxian County?" Zhou Zeng reminded: "We don't have enough supplies and equipment, we only have enough food and grass for ten days, and our soldiers don't have any formal experience in siege. What if we can't take down Qulu?"

Xiang Kang frowned deeply, nodded, admitted that Qulu is indeed harder to fight than Tong County, and then said: "Similarly, for us, as long as the enemy keeps the city behind closed doors, Tong County is actually as difficult to fight as Qulu. But relatively speaking, because we have a lot of people in our hands and are inextricably linked with the military and civilian officials in the city of Qulu, there are much more chances to use tricks to win, so for us, first It may be easier to contact Tong County than Tong County."

Seeing that Xiang Kang had made up his mind, and knowing that he was far inferior to Xiang Kang who was born to eat this bowl of rice in military affairs, Zhou Zeng no longer insisted on objecting, but told Xiang Kang that when he was in the classroom, he was interested in attacking him because of interest. Xiang Kang has a lot of research on city weapons, so that Xiang Kang can find him at any time when he needs it. Xiang Kang was overjoyed after hearing this, and quickly asked Zhou Zeng to draw and design the siege ladder and floating ladder immediately according to the height of the city wall and the width of the moat. Not to mention spare siege weapons such as bases.

One day after departure, the young general army, who had no rivals in the southeast of Sishui County, successfully entered the Qulu territory westward, and as Xiang Kang expected, just after entering the country, there were indeed a lot of Qusi people helping the old and the young, running He came to the Young Marshal’s army to look for relatives. Xiang Kang, in order to buy the hearts of the soldiers, also allowed the local Young Marshal’s soldiers to go out of the camp to meet their families when they set up the camp. Outside the Young Marshal’s camp, fathers and sons hugged each other, and couples hugged each other and cried. Touching scene.

At the beginning, Xiang Kang and many of the young generals were worried that the prisoners of the Qin army would take the opportunity to escape, which would affect the morale of the army. Going against the trend, there is also the harsh governance of the county temple, and the people are unbearably abused. Not only did the soldiers of the Young Marshal who went out to meet their families escape, on the contrary, there were many people who took the initiative to ask to join the Young Marshal Army. Xiang Kang was overjoyed to accept them all. As a result, more than a hundred people were added to the ranks of the Young Marshal's Army, which made a good start for this attack.

The next day, under the leadership of Xiang Kang, the Young Marshal Army continued to advance eastward, and arrived at the eastern suburb of Qulu smoothly that afternoon. The result was just as Xiang Kang had expected in advance. I chose to close the city and stick to it, not daring to lead the troops out to fight.Xiang Kang was not in a hurry, but while directing the army to set up camp at a suitable place, he sent people to cut wood and handed it over to Zhou Zeng's engineering team to make siege equipment. specific circumstances.

When the camp was established, and at dinner time, Xiang Kang invited Chao Zhi and several officials who followed Chao Zhi to surrender to the tent of the Chinese army, and while eating with them, he consulted them on the strategy of breaking the city.As a result, Chao Zhi first said: "Young commander, the general thinks that the best way to attack and win is to find a way to win by surprise. Don't count too much on a frontal attack to succeed directly. Because the city wall of the city is too strong. Over the years, In order to prevent the flooding of the Sui River, the several county magistrates of Qulu paid great attention to strengthening the city wall every time they collected corvee. They built the city wall to a height of three feet and a width of one and a half feet. It is impossible to expect the trebuchet to break the city wall."

"In addition, in order to facilitate flood discharge, the moat was dug deep and wide, and it was still difficult to fill in the running water. Even if we built a siege ladder or a building car, there was no way to push it under Xiaxiang City and launch a siege. So The final general believes that with the current situation of our army, there is no certainty of victory in a frontal attack, and we can only find a way to win by surprise and use other methods to take down Qulu City."

Listening to Chao Zhi's introduction, Xiang Kang, who had already gone to the scene to investigate, was not in a hurry to speak. It was only after Chao Zhi finished his introduction that Xiang Kang asked: "General Chao, in your opinion, we should How to win by surprise?"

"The general thinks that we might as well make a fuss about the county magistrate Wang Zhao's unpopularity." Chao Zhi suggested, and then said: "It's not that the general hates Wang Zhao deliberately belittling him, this man is famous, isn't he? He is greedy for money and lustful, hot-tempered, cruel and harsh, and there is not a single military and civilian official in the city who does not hate him. The general estimates that the military and civilian officials who are concerned may be afraid of his power and have to participate in the defense of the city, but Among them, there must be many people who are very willing to see you, the young commander, break through your worries and behead Wang Zhao to vent your anger."

"Wang Zhao is not a thing, so how did he secure the position of county magistrate?" Xiang Kang asked thinkingly.

"Of course it's flattering, to please the superiors." Chao Zhi sneered and said, "He is distantly related to the county censor of our Sishui County, and he often sends beautiful women to the county censor, and the county censor is in charge of all the officials in the entire Sishui county. As for the assessment and supervision, even the governor of Zhao Jun would not dare to offend him easily. He has the support of the county censor and helped him settle the affairs in the officialdom, so he has secured his position. Otherwise, with his virtue, he would have never known that he was It's been spared a few times."

Chao Zhi took the lead, and several Qulu officials who surrendered with Chao Zhi also agreed one after another, saying that the county magistrate Wang Zhao is not a good person, and he has nothing but flattery to his superiors.Xiang Kang nodded after hearing this, and asked again: "Wang Zhao in Qulu City, what kind of confidantes does Wang Zhao have?"

"What kind of confidants can he have, except for the relatives he brought from his hometown, and the Hu Cao Lufang who only knows how to flatter him all day long, even the scribes in the county temple are unwilling to have a heart-to-heart relationship with him. "Chao Zhi said contemptuously: "The county magistrate and the county you lieutenant are also at odds with him, and they often greet his old mother behind the scenes. There are also several big families in the county who are often blackmailed by him. , I wish he could get out sooner."

Hearing this, Xiang Kang already had an idea, first he asked Xiang Ta to bring some cloth and ink, and then he told Chao Zhi and the others: "General Chao, and everyone, you are familiar with the people in Qulu City. Please write some letters, enumerate Wang Zhao's various crimes, and persuade the military and civilian officials in Licheng to help me kill Wang Zhao, and bring Wang Zhao's head to me in exchange for a big reward. In addition, General Chao, please work hard. Then use your personal reputation to write a letter to the concerned county magistrate and you lieutenant respectively, urging them to abandon the dark and turn to the bright, kill Wang Zhao and surrender to me, in exchange for great rewards, glory and wealth, and finally sign your name."

Chao Zhi and the others agreed, and then Chao Zhi hesitated and said: "Young commander, I can write the letter, but the general is not sure whether he can persuade the county magistrate and you lieutenant to surrender."

"It's okay, let's write." Xiang Kang smiled and said, "I don't expect these letters to be effective in recruiting and surrendering. I just need to let Wang Zhao see these letters."

Although they didn't quite understand Xiang Kang's intentions, in order to show their loyalty to the new master, Chao Zhi and others did not hesitate to write a book, and quickly wrote more than a dozen pieces of advice to persuade the army and civilians to kill Wang Zhao in exchange for a big reward. Then Chao Zhi used his personal reputation to write a letter to the concerned county magistrate and Youwei, urging them to abandon the dark and turn to the bright, kill the unpopular Wang Zhao and surrender to the young commander.After the letter was written, Xiang Kang immediately handed it over to Xiang Yang, and asked Xiang Yang to arrange ten crossbowmen to lurk under the city at night, tie the letters with arrows and shoot them into the city.

The matter was not over yet. After dinner, Xiang Kang sent a message from Zheng Lun, the chief official of Qulu, who had also surrendered to him, and ordered him to imitate the handwriting of Qulu County Cheng and Youwei, and write to himself in their honor. He wrote two letters, and then handed them over to Xiang Yang and taught him the opportunity face to face, so that Xiang Yang could act according to plan...

…………

After all, it is a county town, and no matter how strict the precautions are, it is impossible to cover everything. Xiang Kang's soldiers did not even have a chance to touch the city and release arrows. Several letters were shot into the city one by one.Then, just as Xiang Kang expected, although a few arrow books fell into remote places in the city and disappeared, and a few letters were hidden or destroyed, there were still a few letters that were found by soldiers of the Qin army and handed in. At that time, it was forwarded to Wang Zhao, the magistrate of Qulu County, and it also included a personal letter written by Chao Zhi to Bao Wen, the right lieutenant of Qulu County.

It is conceivable that Wang Zhao was furious after seeing these letters. In his fright, Wang Zhao not only ordered the whole city to search for the remaining arrow books and confiscated them, but also patted the table and yelled loudly to greet Chao Zhi's rebels. Eighteen generations of his ancestors vowed to deal with Chao Zhi's flirtatious wife in bed.However, after the rage, Wang Zhao fell into great fear again, for fear that the people below would really be instigated by the young general Jun and Chao Zhi, and suddenly kill him, and take his own head to reward Xiang Kang in front of him—after all, Wang Zhao Zhao is quite self-aware, he knows what kind of reputation he is among the people, and he also knows how unpopular he is.

The more he was afraid, the more he would see a ghost. When Wang Zhao was worried, Lv Fan, who had recently been promoted by Wang Zhao himself to replace Chao Zhi as the left captain of Qulu County, suddenly came to ask for an interview. The hall of the county temple screamed in panic as soon as he opened his mouth: "Xianzun, it's a disaster, a disaster, a letter was found outside the city, we found a letter outside the city!"

"What disaster?" Wang Zhao asked angrily, and then asked suspiciously, "A letter was found outside the city? Didn't all the letters of the thieves shoot into the city? How did you find the letter outside the city?"

"The county lord, it's not the letter of the rebels, but the letter we took from the people in the city and shot it out." Lu Fang replied with a sad face, and then said: "The letter was also shot out by the arrow and stuck in the mud outside the east gate. On the ground, thanks to the sharp-eyed lecturer under the subordinate officials, he saw it and took it back in advance, otherwise this letter would definitely be picked up by the scouts of the thieves."

"Who is so bold to use arrows and books to communicate with the thieves outside?" Wang Zhao was furious, and shouted, "Who is the person who wrote the letter?"

"I don't dare to say anything." Lu Fa timidly showed off, and carefully presented a crossbow arrow specially designed for the Qin army, as well as a silk arrow book, and said: "The county lord, please read it yourself, you are very familiar with this person." .”

He snatched the arrow book that was handed over by his entourage, and when he unfolded it for a closer look, Wang Zhao suddenly felt that the handwriting seemed familiar. After reading the letter and signing it, Wang Zhao suddenly had some blue veins blooming on his forehead. It turned out that this letter , It turned out to be written by Duan Zixing, the county magistrate who was concerned!But after carefully reading the contents of the letter, Wang Zhaoxian's face lost all color, and then he slapped the table and shouted: "Come on, call me Duan Zixing immediately!"

　The child is ill again, and waiting for the infusion delays time, so the number of words is less.Also, being forced to use alienation again, Pure Wolf will pay attention to using similar tactics less in the future.

　　
　
(End of this chapter)