Xiao County, the former county magistrate's residence.
In the courtyard, Shi Pu was lying on a bench with a frown on his brow, and was being served by a maid, with his eyes closed to rest.
General Guo Shaobin came hurriedly and said, "General, the guards recruited by Pengcheng have arrived."
"Hmm" Shi Pu immediately opened his eyes and became alert. He waved his hand to signal the maid to stop kneading, sat up, and asked, "How many men and horses are there?"
"This is the first batch, a total of 5,000 guards. Now that the rice seedlings are about to be planted, the people are busy working. Even if we work hard, we can only get these people."
"However, after the grain is stored in the warehouse and the rice planting is completed, the situation may be better. It should not be difficult to recruit another 5,000 people." Guo Shaobin glanced at Shi Pu's face and explained carefully.
When Shi Pu heard this, his excitement faded, but his slightly furrowed brows relaxed. He asked solemnly, "Any news from Li Keyong and Zhu Wen?"
"Yes." Guo Shaobin did not dare to neglect and said quickly: "Li Keyong and others, with the Hedong Army as the main force and the Bianzhou Army and Chenzhou Army as the two wings, took the initiative to attack Shangcai. Although Huang Chao can still resist, he has suffered heavy losses. I am afraid he can't hold on for long."
"Good." This news boosted Shi Pu's spirits. He immediately stood up and continued to ask, "Did Huang Chao recruit Shang Rang to come back for help?"
When Shi Pu asked about the news of Li Keyong and Zhu Wen, Guo Shaobin guessed what he was thinking. However, ideals are full of hope, and reality is bound to be very skinny. He hesitated for a moment before saying, "It should be possible, but Shang Rang still has his troops stationed, as if he is worried about the unusual movement in the direction of Yucheng."
"Yucheng?" Shi Pu was puzzled. What happened in Yucheng
"Yucheng has been occupied by a Hedong army. According to the information sent by the scouts, this is a Yue cavalry of nearly 10,000 Shatuo people. It would be fine if we don't move. If we move rashly, we will most likely be attacked by this cavalry. Not only will Huang Chao not be able to gain reinforcements, he himself may also die along the way." Guo Shaobin explained patiently.
"Pa, dang" Shi Pu heard the news and suddenly jumped up, violently sweeping the tea set off the small table. His face was red, his chest was heaving violently, and he said angrily: "Asshole, One-Eyed Dragon must die a horrible death, how dare you hurt me like this."
It is no wonder that he was so sad and angry. His enemy Han Zhi had already become powerful, while he himself was trapped in Xiao County and could not move an inch.
If Shang Rang went to reinforce Huang Chao, he could take the opportunity to raise an army to attack Han Zhi; even if he did not fight Han Zhi, returning to Pengcheng to make plans would be much better than staying here and passively taking a beating.
But man proposes, God disposes. It was because Li Keyong had hidden an ambush in Songzhou that Shang Rang dared not move rashly. If Shang Rang did not move, he would not dare to move either.
"Where is Liu Zhijun? What moves has he made?" After taking a breath, Shi Pu finally suppressed his anger and turned to care about Liu Zhijun.
Chen stupid guy, now there are only less than 2,000 guards left, and we can't rely on him at all, but we can still look forward to Liu Zhijun.
Looking at Shi Pu who was still furious, Guo Shaobin did not dare to hide anything and immediately said, "General Liu is still entrenched by the Yellow River. Ever since Han Zhi led his troops there, the south bank of the Yellow River has become a three-legged tripod."
"A three-way standoff?"
"Yes, with the three parties confronting each other, no one dares to act rashly, and General Liu is the weakest, so he dares not act rashly." Guo Shaobin made an excuse for Liu Zhijun.
For Liu Zhijun, Li Dan is an enemy, Han Zhi is also an enemy, the three parties are facing each other by the river, Liu
Zhijun had the weakest force and was easily a target. Logically, he should have secretly withdrawn to Xiao County, but he did not. He remained where he was and his attitude was unclear.
Such a move would easily arouse Shi Pu's suspicion. At this moment, facing Shi Pu's inquiries, Guo Shaobin did not mention a word about his ambiguous attitude towards Liu Zhijun. How could this not be an excuse
However, Guo Shaobin did not mention it. If Shi Pu thought of some possibilities himself, he could not blame others. Shi Pu could become a warlord, so he certainly had certain abilities.
He only thought for a moment, and his face changed color like a revolving lantern. After a long time, he said with a mixture of worry: "In this troubled time, I hope he won't let me down. But never mind, I have seen many ungrateful people in this era, and he won't be one more."
Upon hearing this, Guo Shaobin remained silent. He knew that Shi Pu was afraid of Liu Zhijun, but he didn't expect that Shi Pu would look at him in this way. What was Liu Zhijun in his eyes? A chess piece? What about himself
However, he was destined to keep this doubt in his heart, and bowed again and said: "Manager, how should we deal with the current situation?"
Shi Pu thought about it and seemed helpless. He waved his hand and said, "Continue to train the troops. Now we can only wait for news from Shangcai. No matter how the battle situation in Shangcai is, Shangrang is a tough nut to crack. In the end, we can only rely on ourselves to solve it."
Shi Pu seemed to have a plan as well. As long as Huang Chao was defeated, he would take the opportunity to attack Shang Rang. If he could swallow up Shang Rang's troops, he would have no worries about dealing with Han Zhi.
On the banks of the Yellow River, Xu Wei’s army camp.
Han Zhi reorganized the Ganhua Army and the Cao Army, renamed it the Xu Wei Army, and this new army has now advanced to the banks of the Yellow River.
More than ten days passed, Li Hanzhi and Yang Shihou surrendered one after another. Both the original Cao Army guards and the Reform Army soldiers had been completely integrated into the new group, and the army's combat effectiveness was initially formed.
Han Zhi enforced strict military discipline when commanding his troops. He gave generous rewards to those who advanced and severe punishments to those who fled. He also ensured that the land and horses, chariots and horses, chariots and armor were suitable for each other, and that they could share happiness and adversity.
He also divided the generals into polite generals, benevolent generals, strict generals, brave generals, and trustworthy generals. He did not seek perfection in people, but used them according to the person and the situation. Only in this way, within a short period of ten days, he created a situation of "generals and soldiers united", and the embryonic form of father-son soldiers was already formed. The guards under his command seemed full of hope for their future.
In the military tent, Zhu Li sat in the center, with Han Zhi, Yang Zaixing, Li Hanzhi and others sitting on his left and right. Zhu Li spoke directly, "With our current military strength, it will definitely not be worth the loss if we want to fight Li Dan head-on. Although our troops are all veterans, they have not been used to each other for long. If you have any good ideas to defeat Li Dan, please bring them forward and we can discuss them together."
"Li Dan is just a coward. General, just allow me three thousand Yue cavalry. I will cut off his head and present it to you." Yang Zaixing asked with great pride and confidence.
"Humph." Before Yang Zaixing finished speaking, Li Hanzhi snorted coldly and said fiercely, "As long as the general allocates 2,000 Yue cavalry to me, if I don't kill Li Dan, then kill me."
Since Li Hanzhi surrendered, he has not only been unfriendly to Han Zhi, but has also been tit-for-tat with Yang Zaixing, as if he is going to continue the unfinished agreement.
"Everyone retreat. Li Dan's elite soldiers are holding the fort and the stronghold is stable. How are you going to kill him?" Zhu Li was a little angry. These two bastards, will they die if they don't fight for a day? They are not afraid of biting their tongues when they brag.
Seeing this scene, Zhu Li sighed. Yang Zaixing originally
He was a good man and Zhu Li's only follower. Although he loved to show off and gossip, he would not speak nonsense. Now he has changed. Alas.
Zhu Li glanced at Li Hanzhi. Yang Zaixing's aggressiveness was stimulated by this person.
Li Hanzhi had just surrendered, and in order to avoid any accidents, Zhu Li conferred on him the title of General of the Guards. Now, Yang Zaixing seemed to feel threatened and started to confront Li Hanzhi head-on.
When the two saw Zhu Li's unhappy expression, they looked at each other, snorted coldly, and turned their heads away together.
"Li Dan is a veteran general of Huang Chao, and he must have many elite soldiers under his command. Our army is new and its combat effectiveness is uncertain. We must not be careless. We cannot fight this battle head-on, we can only win by using our wits." Zhu Li set the tone with a stern face.
As soon as he finished speaking, Han Zhi said, "General, we might as well bluff again. Although we may not be able to completely annihilate Li Dan, it should not be difficult to defeat him severely."
Han Zhi spoke calmly, but when he heard his voice, Li Hanzhi's face darkened again. He turned his head, glanced at Han Zhi unkindly, and quickly looked away.
This guy was obviously still brooding over how Han Zhi had intimidated him into surrendering. His entire reputation was ruined by Han Zhi, so how could he not have any resentment at all
Han Zhi promised him a good future at the beginning, but what about now
Although Zhu Li gave him the title of General of the Guards, does Zhu Li have any guards now
Even if they are just temporary guards, there are only seven or eight of them. His title as the guard general is impressive, but in reality he is not much better than a commander without troops. Is this the good future that Han Zhi talked about
From being a senior official commanding tens of thousands of troops, he suddenly became a commander without any troops. It would be strange if he was not depressed by this gap.
Now even the lieutenant general Yang Shihou is doing better than him. Ever since Yang Shihou surrendered, he was directly appointed as a lieutenant general by Zhu Li, commanding nearly 10,000 troops, which made him salivate and envy him.
Although he was depressed, he was also helpless. Yang Shihou was defeated by Zhu Li head-on, and the other party also saw through Zhu Li's confusing words. The ability he displayed was naturally several times better than Li Hanzhi.
He was scared into surrendering without even fighting, how could he be compared with Master Yang
But Zhu Li didn't care how depressed he was. Their primary goal now was to defeat Li Dan and get rid of all the trash in Xuzhou first.
Han Zhi's words were exactly what he wanted, and he immediately asked, "How are you going to bluff?"
Seeing that Zhu Li's interest had been aroused, Han Zhi did not dare to neglect it and said quickly, "General, you can lead a unit in person to attack Li Dan from the front with real swords and guns. I and several other generals will each lead a unit, each holding a flag. Those who have horses can ride them, and those who don't can ride the confiscated donkeys, mules, and oxen. We can hide in the dark, wave flags, run wildly, and shout, pretending that tens of thousands of troops are moving together, and cooperate with the general to pretend to surround Li Dan from three sides, which will definitely scare Li Dan away."
"Won't Li Dan have doubts? After all, our army was formed not long ago, how could we have so many troops?" Zhu Li frowned and questioned.
"So what if he has doubts? Does he dare to burn his boats? It's not that I underestimate Li Dan, he doesn't have the courage. As long as he is afraid, he will escape to save his life. If he flees, the morale of the Cao army will surely collapse. It will be easy then. It will be a good opportunity for us to give him a good beating." Han Xin explained confidently.