At this time, Zhang Xi had already fought Wen Chou for more than 30 rounds, and his marksmanship gradually became disorganized, and some of his strength was lost. Wen Chou's marksmanship tightened and he was waiting to make another killer move, but from the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Yuan Shao falling into the siege, and his expression panicked.
Although Zhang Yun's martial arts were inferior to him, he was also a top expert. How could he let go of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and immediately roared, and the iron spear slammed past.
Wen Chou had quick eyes, flashed sideways, and stretched out his left arm, stiffening Zhang Yun's iron gun under his armpit. Wen Chou was concerned about Yuan Shao's safety, and shot Zhang Yun with a shot from his right hand like lightning.
The two horses were already close at this time, and Zhang Yun had to abandon the iron spear if he wanted to dodge. When it was extremely urgent, I suddenly heard the "swish" sound of breaking through the air, only to see Wen Chou's gun stabbed halfway but stopped.
When Zhang Yun looked up, he saw a wolf-toothed arrow coming out of Wen Chou's chest, and the cluster of arrows flashed with a faint cold light. Not far away, Huang Zhongzheng slowly lowered his longbow. Zhang Xi was overjoyed in his heart. He took advantage of the momentum and with a strong draw, he had already taken the iron spear back, and stabbed it out with his backhand, showing his ugly throat. Wen Chou's body swayed twice, and he planted his horse. The soldiers had already stepped forward and cut off the head.
Seeing that Wen Chou, who was once invincible, had his head in a different place, the soldiers around Yuan Shao abandoned their swords and spears, dismounted and surrendered. Even Feng Ji dropped the sword in his hand and knelt on the ground. Although Yuan Shao has such shortcomings, he has always been arrogant and arrogant. He could not help but sigh up to the sky. He wanted to draw his sword and slay himself. Only then was he shocked that his saber had been handed over to the prison and put to death. View them.
The surrounding Han soldiers had already rushed forward and dragged Yuan Shao off the horse. He fell to the ground and tied him up.
But he said that the trial partner fled the north gate and searched for Yuan Shao all the way to here. When he saw Yuan Shao being captured alive by the Han army, he was unable to return to the sky and put the saber around his neck. Before he could say a few impassioned words, he heard another sound. At the sound, his arm numb, and the sword fell on the ground, breaking into two pieces, but Huang Zhong shot the sword in the body.
The fighting continued until dusk, when the whole Yecheng gradually calmed down. The people hid in their homes and did not dare to go out. Only a line of Han soldiers passed by on the street from time to time. In fact, it is not appropriate to say that it is a battle. Most of the time, the Han army was searching for Yuan Jun soldiers who fled and Yuan Shao's civil and military officials.
Surrounded by the generals, Liu Xin entered Yecheng, and Simpi greeted him from a distance, and said, "Your Majesty Qizhao, the minister has ordered someone to clean up Yuan Shao's general mansion, please move and rest. "
Zhang Fei shouted: "My eldest brother is today, why not vacate Liu Biao's palace and live in what general mansion?"
Xin Pi said whisperingly: "General Zhang does not know that the most luxurious house in Yecheng is Yuan Shao's General Mansion, and that pseudo-palace is incomparable anyway."
Although both were emperors fostered by others, Liu Biao was different from Liu Xie in one point. He was not only a clan of the Han clan, but also a celebrity in the world, and his influence far exceeded Liu Xie. Therefore, Yuan Shao's control over Liu Biao is more stringent, which is basically equivalent to putting him under house arrest. Not only does he have no real power, but the space for activities is also restricted to a small area, and naturally there is no need for a big house.
Of course Liu Xin understands that Liu Biao is the emperor in name, but in fact it is just a puppet supported by Yuan Shao. He nodded, but said: "I didn't go to battle to kill the enemy, so I don't need to rest. George, you are more familiar with the situation in the city. , First take me to the people's homes and have a look around."
Simpi didn't dare to neglect, pointing towards the east, and said: "Your Majesty, please see, Yecheng and even the most famous family of noble families in Hebei live on that street."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said, "First take me to the homes of ordinary people."
Xin Pi was stunned for a moment, turned around and walked to a side alley, and opened the courtyard door of a family. Some firewood was piled up in the yard, there was a small well at the corner of the yard, and further down there were a few low and broken huts, but no one was seen. Simpi said loudly, "Where is the family? Come out!"
Liu Xin glared at him dissatisfiedly, and said, "Is there anyone here? Don't be afraid, we are the army of the big man and protect our people."
After a while, there was still no movement in the yard. Xu Huang smiled, and suddenly said: "It seems that this family has fled. It is better to give this yard to the soldiers to rest and stay for a few days."
As soon as his words fell, the pile of firewood suddenly started to move, and an old couple walked out tremblingly from it, and said to Liu Xin and others: "All military masters, please do well, there is really nothing valuable at home. Up."
Liu Xin walked over to support the two old people, and said with a smile: "Old man, don't be afraid. As I said just now, we are all soldiers of the big man. We are here to protect our common people, not to grab property. What about the family? There are only two of you. What about the others? Call them out. We won't hurt everyone."
Seeing Liu Xin's pleasant expressions, the expressions of the old couple only eased slightly. The old man sighed, shook his head and said: "The army master did not know that the young man had three sons. The eldest son died in Liyang last year, and he did not even see the bones. The second son has been called up to Liyang again this year. Not returned. The youngest son also went to the city two days ago, and now he is still alive and dead. Only our old couple is left. This day can't be passed, alas..."
Liu Xin comforted: "Don't worry, although they were the masters in the past, they are also the people of the big man. We will not embarrass them. As long as they are not killed in battle, they should be back in a few days."
The old couple bowed towards Liu Xin and said, "Thank you, Jun Ye..."
Simpi yelled: "What military master? This is our big man..."
Liu Xin waved his hand, stopped Simpi, and said, "Don't be afraid. If you have any difficulties in the future, go to the local government office. Even if your two children can't come back, the government office will try to take care of your lives."
The two old men were grateful, but Liu Xin also knew that since ancient times, the people were afraid of officials. Even if they were too difficult to survive, they did not dare to ask for help from the government. They couldn't help but turn around and said: "George, I will appoint you to be the prefect of Weijun now. Yecheng will be handed over to you to manage. In the near future, I will allocate a batch of supplies to make sure that the people can get enough food and clothing to survive this winter safely."
Wei Jun is the largest county in Hebei. Yecheng is the governing place of Wei Jun. It is also close to Si Li, and its location is very important. Now Liu Xin has handed over this place to Xinpi for management, and Xinpi can't help but flatter him. Be sure to follow Liu Xin's orders.
After leaving this house, Simpi led Liu Xin to look at several nearby houses, and the situation was similar. Only the old, weak, women and children are left in these people's homes. The young and middle-aged people are all taken away from the front line. The houses are also in dilapidated conditions. The food in the homes cannot be maintained for a few days, and the savings are not even mentioned.
Seeing such a scene, Liu Xin looked solemn and turned to the people around him and said: "You now understand why Yuan Shao was defeated so quickly? The people are suffering from the war, but Yuan Shao does not know that he is sympathetic to the people's strength, but blindly. How can you be undefeated if you are a poor soldier? Don’t forget the past, the teacher of the future. The people are like water, and the court is like a boat. Water can carry and overturn the boat. Remember, remember!"
The generals all agreed. Xinpi, who had just become the prefect of Wei Jun, lowered his head and pondered the meaning of Liu Xin's words.
But Liu Xin waved his hand and said: "Everyone has seen the situation of the people. Let's go, let's go and see what kind of life those gentry families are like."
Each city has its unique layout, and people of different classes often live in different areas. The gentry in Yecheng were mostly concentrated in the Dongcheng area, including Xinpi himself. Yuan Shao's civil and military and many wealthy families lived here. From a glance, they were all high-ranking families, and the streets were wider than other places. However, the entire Dongcheng is now completely controlled by the Han army, no one is allowed to enter or leave, but the Han army has not broken into the homes of these big households.
Simpi pointed to a big house on the roadside and said, "Your Majesty, this is the residence of Xu You and Xu Ziyuan."
Xu You once received Xun Yu's comment that he was "greedy but not ruled" in history. Liu Xin couldn't help but become interested. He wanted to see how much money he was greedy under Yuan Shao, so he waved his hand and said, "Go, just go to him. Take a look at home."
Ordinary gentry families are better. The homes of several important advisers and generals under Yuan Shao have long been replaced by Han soldiers, and their families have been taken aside. The personal guards did not even have to close the door. They stepped forward and directly pushed the pair of vermilion lacquer gates to both sides, and Liu Xin and others raised their heads and entered.
Xu You's mansion was a wolverine. The yard was filled with parcels and cages. They were filled with gold and silver that Xu You had put together after the siege of the Han army. Xu You asked his family to pick up the soft gold and silver in a hurry, and open one at random. It was all dazzling.
Liu Xin frowned and said, "The people can't eat, but here is like a mountain of gold and silver. Minzhiminbao has been raided by the officials. Do you still want to expect the people to sell their lives for them? Yuan Shao is not unjustly defeated!"
All the generals nodded slightly, only Simpi showed a look of embarrassment. Xu You is of course the most greedy, and Simpi is not an innocent person. The difference between the two is only 50 and 100 steps. At this point, Xinpi felt that he had understood Liu Xin's intentions, and could not help but wiped a cold sweat, and said to Liu Xin, "Your Majesty, many ministers were greedy for ink in the past and are willing to spend their wealth to help the people."
Liu Xin waved her hand and said, "That's not necessary. I just want you to understand the suffering of the people. As an official, we will benefit one party. We must find ways to make the people live a good life instead of asking you to live a poor life. Go. Let's go to the next one."
After leaving the Xu Mansion, Xin Pi pointed towards the other side of the street and said, "Your Majesty, there is the house of the Zhen family, a prominent family in Hebei."