We agreed that you, a weak strategist, would fight against three heroes by yourself?

As for the remaining brothers...he will definitely avenge them!

Speaking of which, the reason why he was able to bring most of his brothers back was thanks to his lord's intense training.

If everyone had not maintained a very high level of training and strong martial arts skills, they would have been completely annihilated under the heavy siege of tens of thousands of troops.

Any breakthrough is just a dream...

While the black and white cavalry was training, Cao Pi did not go as Xi Yu expected, but he took action within three or four days.

A very talented notice written by his younger brother Cao Zhi described Xiyu as being like a wild mountain. Not only was he of low status, but he was also ungrateful. He gained the power of the Cao family and opposed the Cao family, snatching away the emperor and ignoring the power of the Han Dynasty... ···

The notice contained thousands of words in a eloquent manner. Although the words were not dirty, they described Xi Yu as a coward who repaid kindness with hatred, could not be reused, and was a thief.

This notice, scolding Xi Yu as an eternal villain, was spread throughout the world in just ten days, reaching as far as the remote nomadic people in the north and as far south as Jingzhou and Jiangdong.

Even the Yelang people living in a small area have heard some rumors.

However, four or five days later, nearly a thousand Confucian scholars from Qingxu and Xuzhou issued a joint statement, scolding the Cao family, saying that they were shameless and shameless. Push the basin on others.

Because it was a joint message, it spread faster than Cao Pi's notice. Many of them copied it and spread it further along the trade routes.

In just a few days, the news reached the ears of people from southern barbarians and northern barbarians. Not only that, this joint statement even had a faint tendency to spread overseas!

Among the Wuhuan tribe in the far north, a Central Plains man named Yuan who was struggling to survive here couldn't help but smile so happily after seeing the fight between Cao Pi and Xi Yu.

To this end, he even used his few assets to treat the leaders of the Wuhuan tribe to several drinks.

As the fourth generation and third prince, he has long since lost the courage to go south to compete with others, and now he has no choice but to live here as a nomadic merchant on horseback, trying to survive.

It's just that...most of the goods that allow him to make a living come from Xiyu's trading company...

Behind this scolding battle, Xi Yu also began to make secret plans again.

He first ordered people to secretly lead troops from Xuzhou to Xiaopei, and then sent another pair of troops to Mengyin.

A two-sided pincer attack took only one night. While marching in a hurry, the two armies also captured Pei County and Taishan County.

The leader of this battle was Gao Shun. Like Xi Yu, he was once a member of Cao Cao's guard.

Seeing that the war was going well, Xi Yu immediately ordered the fierce general Zhang Wenyuan to guard Mount Tai. At the same time, he ordered Zhuge Liang's brother Zhuge Jin to go to Pei County to manage government affairs.

As for the others, they set out again, frightening the guards of Lujun and Jibei.

In addition to military plans, Xi Yu also asked the emperor to write an edict, urging the people around him to surrender to the Han and oppose Cao's army and many other traitors.

Because of the emperor's edict, it was not too difficult for many people to switch sides.

Soon, the people in the surrounding counties all surrendered to Xi Yu and the emperor. Not only did Cao Pi's plan fail, he also suffered the consequences.

Before you know it, spring plowing has arrived.

I have to admit here that Xi Yu always timed the start of the war just right.

It is either harvesting in autumn or plowing in spring. This is completely pressing the enemy to the ground and rubbing it.

Because Qingxu is different from any other place in the world.

Not to mention anything else, the level of farming tools alone is extremely polarizing.

With Xiyu, although the farming tools in Qingxu and Qingxu are not as good as those of later generations, they are still far from what other places can match at the moment.

Therefore, if the people living in these two places want to open up wasteland and farm, they only need to bring farm tools and work hard as a family for a few days.

The same goes for growing food.

In addition, after the people have finished sowing, Xi Yu will also order people to open granaries and release grain, and win people's hearts by offering more rewards for more work.

Especially those refugees and refugees who first came to settle here have now become attentive families in the city, and they don't have to pay too much attention when tending the crops.

This is also the main reason why Xi Yu ordered local officials to include their names in the list of hundreds of local names.

In addition, he also built many residential houses in the original wilderness areas for homeless people to live here.

This statement is true in a world dominated by those who win the hearts of the people.

Xi Yu's ability to build Qingxu into his most solid rear area in a very short period of time through his own management has a lot to do with winning the trust and support of these people.

Now Taishan County and Peixian County are also in his hands. According to past habits, he directly followed the original model and gathered the people from these two places.

Especially Taishan County, which originally had high mountains and dense forests, dangerous and complex terrain, and many gangsters' families, was quickly pacified by him.

Not only that, he also sent Zang Ba here to temporarily serve as a local official to handle internal affairs.

As for Zhang Wenyuan, he is just stationing troops here and waiting for news from above.

Speaking of which, since he made several achievements, he has already become the commander-in-chief of Xiyu's Western Front Expedition. He no longer has to accept orders from anyone except Zhao Zilong.

After Peixian and Taishan counties were completely stabilized, Xiyu, the Duke of Sheng, was successfully granted the title of Duke of Yonghan by the emperor, with his capital in Qingzhou and his country named Qi.

At this time, he can basically be regarded as the prime minister of the Han Dynasty, a person who is inferior to one person and superior to tens of thousands of people.

Not to mention his position and ministers, he was also called uncle by the emperor. In this way, he was comparable to Cao Cao at the time. He was even far more powerful and exaggerated than Cao Cao in terms of military and popular support.

No one in the whole country objected to the emperor's announcement, and the vast majority of them even applauded.

This shows how popular he is, and there is almost no need to go through the process.

The emperor even more so whenever someone advises him to promote him to the official position of Xiyu, he immediately nods his head without hesitation, almost always following his words.

But even so, he had no intention of becoming king.

It was precisely in this way that the people in the newly captured cities believed that he was working for the Han Dynasty and recovering the Han Dynasty for the emperor. He was not at all the ungrateful villain Cao Pi said.

Of course, in addition to this, his other actions also aroused the admiration and gratitude of the people.

First, in the name of several academicians of the Design Academy, many strong men were recruited into the "construction team" of urban construction to prepare for the construction of brand new residences.

Then, thousands of young students from various schools, ranging in age from teenagers to 20s, were recruited to help design the house model.

Finally, they used grain and grass as a lure to build a large number of farmhouses for people to live in. At the same time, all the residences were designed to be of the same scale and size, which not only allowed enough people to have a shelter from wind and rain, but also expanded the territory through people's hearts.

Create a brand new county in Taishan County, and plan fields for every farm family, even wasteland is no exception.

In addition, Xi Yu also made a rough estimate that under the circumstances of tax reduction and exemption, and with the help of Qingxu and Qingxu, if this place can achieve self-sufficiency and everyone has a surplus of grain, it will take at least three steps. Years long.

In order to make this place gradually prosperous, he stopped attacking again.

Because if you can't defend it even if you capture it, then why bother to fight?

How could a territory as big as Yanzhou be covered overnight?

Instead of attacking blindly, it is better to attack steadily. At least after turning Taishan County into a place that can accommodate half a million or even a million people and a development level that can keep up with Qingxu, he will consider the possibility of continuing the attack.

Therefore, even if Peixian and Taishan counties are obtained now, he will only order people to focus on the policy of external defense and internal encouragement, and try his best to build this place into another iron wall like Qingxu.

In addition, he sent Zhang Liao to Shouzhang to keep an eye on the situation in Dongjun and other places.

In fact, when it comes to Shouzhang, there seems to be no clear ownership. It was like this when Cao Cao was here. Sometimes it was under Xiyu to garrison troops, and sometimes it was under Cao Ren to guard it. It was barely anyone who could take care of it, but no one cared much about it. special zone.

As soon as the people sent by Xi Yu arrived, from Mount Tai to Dongping, almost all the people in Shouzhang who heard the news opened their doors and went to greet them.

This frightened the soldiers and horses of Dongjun, and they hurriedly gathered towards Jizhou, and then began to station a large number of troops in Puyang, trying to resist Zhang Liao's branch.

However, there is currently no capable coach in Puyang. As for Xia Houchun, who is in Yecheng, Wei County, it will take more than half a month to lead an army here, but Zhang Liao has already been waiting here with an army of 100,000. For a long time, he was gearing up for Dongjun.

With them here, Xia Houchun just wanted to rush to Puyang, but he was afraid that Cao Pi would not agree.

If he really sent troops to Puyang, he was afraid that the situation where the two sides had just stopped fighting would be broken again. Therefore, he never gave the order, and Cao Wei's army did not dare to make any overly drastic moves.

Therefore, due to their inaction, the people living in Yanzhou gradually became shaken, especially in the northeastern part. Most people surrendered directly without Xiyu thinking of a way.

Jibei Prime Minister Bao Xin originally thought that he would die alone and disabled here, but who would have thought that this place would be easily taken over by Xi Yu.

The Bao family naturally followed the trend and served as some local officials here for Xi Yu's use. In this way, they could be regarded as submitting to the emperor's orthodoxy.

During spring plowing, no troops are required. This is almost a customary rule throughout the era.

Naturally, Xi Yu would not break it. After all, even if his Qingxu land was extremely rich, he still knew the importance of food.

Therefore, Xi Yu, who planned to settle accounts after the fall, ordered the generals and soldiers in Qingxu District to drill day and night, just to maintain the best combat condition.

At the same time, he also ordered the caravans to stop developing trade in the west and only transport up and down the longitudinal line. Some people went north and some went south, so that the cities along the way in both directions gradually developed and became prosperous. Quite a few.

This was the main purpose of his initial insistence on establishing caravans, because each city has its own unique specialties.

There may be a small area for grain cultivation in a certain place, but rich mineral resources. At this time, the value of the caravan is reflected. Exchanging grain and grass for local specialties not only satisfies the stomachs of the local people, but also enriches one's own mineral resources.

For example, some defensive cities that lack military equipment can also be exchanged for minerals, food, gold, silver, and silk.

You know, there were quite a few military equipment that had been eliminated from the Qingxu Land, such as single-handed long crossbows, two-person cooperative large repeating crossbows, slings... everything.

To Xi Yu, these things were obsolete scrap metal, but to the defenders elsewhere, they were treasures.

After all, no one is Xi Yu. He has neither the ability nor the ability to set up Tiangongyuan. He cannot support so many skilled craftsmen, nor is he willing to support it.

Therefore, many ingenious mechanisms and even newly invented weapons and military supplies are just a dream to them.

In this way, August passed smoothly.

What was supposed to be a festive day for the autumn harvest was broken by sudden autumn rains.

Whether it is Qingxu or Yanzhou, there are small-scale floods due to frequent rains.

Thanks to Zhuge Liang's proficiency in the study of celestial phenomena and his knowledge of winds, he evacuated some local people early and gave up some of the food that was about to be harvested, so that all losses could be reduced before the rainy weather continued to come. to the lowest.

Then, he ordered people to use huge flood gates to block and store a large amount of rainwater around Leize and Pu Rivers, intending to open the gates to discharge the floods when Dongjun and Jiyin were not paying attention...

He kept moving here, and Cao Pi didn't stop either.

After less than half a year, Xia Houchun finally led his army to Dongjun in batches, arriving at the place he had guarded for many years.

He used to be the prefect of Dongjun, specializing in Puyang. Later, because of his outstanding achievements and his great contribution to the Northern Yuan Dynasty, he was promoted to the general of the Northern Expedition and was granted the title of Marquis.

He was promoted to one of the Four Northern Generals, and his status and reputation were exceptionally high.

This time he led his troops to Dongjun. His main purpose was not only to guard Yanzhou and prevent Xi Yu from entering the territory again, but more importantly, he ordered the army to work together with the people to do a good job in harvesting grain in September.

They don't have the confidence of Qingxu and Qingxu, so they don't dare to waste even a little bit of food. What's more, there is not a small amount of food land in Dongjun.

If there is no time to seize it, I am afraid that during the war, the enemy will be completely advantaged.

For this reason, when he came, he specifically asked Cao Pi for Yu Jin.

As a general with a foreign surname, Yu Jin's achievements in war may not be that significant, but he still has some reputation for farming.

Xi Yu had taken him under his command at the beginning and guided him for more than a few months, and then appointed him as the chief agricultural officer.

However, Yu Jin later did not choose Xi Yu, but instead submitted to the later general Cao Hong.

The first time the two came to Dongjun, they rushed to the nearby fields to investigate.

Seeing that the water levels of Leize and Pu Rivers did not rise even half, Yu Jin was stunned for a moment, and with a little panic in his heart, he asked: "Why doesn't the water flow here rise?"

"Isn't it a good thing that the water is not rising? This means that God is blessing us, and we will be able to harvest food in half a month!"

Looking at the golden fields, Xia Houchun said with a smile: "As long as we collect all the food and grass in the territory, we can stock up our troops here for a year without having to worry about food and grass. In this way, Xi Yu will not dare to raise his troops to invade. "

"But...in recent days, there has been continuous rain upstream, but there is no movement on the water lines that will be affected to some extent. This is obviously abnormal. Could it be...that someone upstream is collecting water? "

"How can this be?"

Xia Houchun didn't take it seriously because he didn't understand, and continued: "Perhaps somewhere collapsed and blocked the tide? Moreover, you also said that it is raining continuously in the upper reaches, and the autumn harvest is around the corner. The drainage is enough for them to be busy, so where else can they be busy? Do you have time to collect water?"

"If the territory is really flooded, isn't that putting the cart before the horse and seeking death? How could Xi Yu be so stupid?"

"No! If there is continuous heavy rain upstream, even if the water level does not rise, the water flow speed will change somewhat."

Yu Jin shook his head, the current situation was not normal.

Although there is some truth in what Xia Houchun said, judging from his understanding of Xi Yu, he is definitely not someone who takes an ordinary path.

Furthermore, it had been raining upstream for a long time. If it had only been raining heavily for three to five days, I would not have been so nervous. But the problem was that throughout August, the sun had barely risen for a few days.

This means that the rain almost never stops.

Under such circumstances, parts of the upper reaches must have been submerged by the river water, and the river water downstream must also have surged, and there may be some floating corpses or grains among them.

But right now, there are not even a single weed on the river, and the waterline is the same as usual. Even the water flow is quite slow, which is obviously wrong.

"But General, you can see that the water flow is quite gentle. Normally, this would not be surprising. However, after a heavy rain, it is most likely because the water upstream is blocked."

"Even...hoarded!"

"General, I think it's better for us to be careful. It would be great if we could send people to investigate upstream. If something goes wrong, not to mention a crop failure, I'm afraid we will all be trapped in floods. disaster!"

"I would like to suggest that we order the army to establish defense lines on both sides of the river in advance, and at the same time send people to evacuate the people. It is best to gather all the people around the river into Puyang City, and then come back to harvest food and grass after the rainy season!"

"This is impossible!"

After listening to the other party's words, Xia Houchun shook his head decisively. In fact, he also understood the hidden dangers, but... it is difficult to do so at present.

"Do you know how much grain and grass have been spent to govern the people over the years? If the harvest fails now, I'm afraid we will have to reach out to Yecheng to ask for grain. But no matter where we are, everyone's life is not easy, especially as grain and grass are quite scarce. .”

"Under such circumstances, it is difficult to feed the tens of thousands of troops stationed in East County, let alone feed them. If even the soldiers on the front line are not fed, how can we fight a war?"