In early October, Xuzhou.
Xuzhou Wuning Fanzhen is adjacent to the Xuanwu Army in the west, Haizhou in the east to look at the sea, and the defense envoy to the rolling sea in the north. It breaks into the south of the Huaihe River in the south, so it can control the fourteen prefectures on the right side of the river. In the county, Sishui flows from the northwest through Xuzhou City to the southeast into the Huaihe River. It is an important town among the important towns in the Central Plains.
Such an important military location has been neglected in the previous Great War in the Central Plains, and has not encountered any major battles. It's not just that the victory between Li Ye and Zhu Wen was decided too quickly, but that the focus of their struggle is not here.
The reason why Xuzhou is important lies in the dispute between the North and the South. When the Huaibei and Huainan forces compete with each other, the Huaisi line is the main battlefield, and Xuzhou will play a pivotal role.
Wuning Jiedu envoy Ren Mao was over fifty years old, he came from a family of officials and officials, and his ancestors did not have any prominent figures, but in his generation, being able to sit on the four prefectures of Wuning and become a feudal lord is considered a glorious ancestor.
It was three poles high in the sun, and the rammed-earth city walls were bathed in golden sunlight, shining brightly on the armor of soldiers. Ren Mao, in wide-sleeved robes, stood in front of the city tower with a worried expression on his face, sighing from time to time.
Looking along his line of sight, one can see that the iron armor outside the city is like a sea, boundless. The water, like the sea, rose to this place, and it was so thick and heavy that one could hardly breathe.
Ren Mao sighed with Confucian style of worrying about the country and the people: "Earlier, when Zhu Wen was in trouble in the Central Plains, eight hundred Taoist soldiers swept across several towns, and hundreds of thousands of soldiers and horses killed people like demons. Seeing the situation in Xuzhou, I quickly descended. Only then can we avoid the disaster of war.”
"Later, King An pacified Zhu Wen, and the battlefields were also on the front lines of Huazhou, Caozhou, and Gunzhou. Although it was a battle of millions of troops, fortunately, the victory and defeat were determined quickly enough, so we in Xuzhou were not attacked by the Pinglu army. Take the first step to see the situation and surrender."
"After several battles, each time a catastrophe loomed. I was quite proud of being able to save the people of the four prefectures of Wuning for a while. I thought that even if the world is in turmoil and wars are endless, as long as I can see the current situation clearly Tu Jinju, only seeking self-protection, may not be able to use both ways to protect the peace of the people in a town. But I didn’t expect that even today, it still cannot save the people of Xuzhou from the military disaster... "
Speaking of this, Ren Mao sighed, his face was full of shame, sentimentality, and almost tears.
He went on to say: "As a minister, I can't find out the rebellious soldiers for the king. As a master, I can't protect the environment and the people. I, Ren Mao, bear the king's kindness and the common people's expectations. It is really shameless... "
Hearing his emotion, the left and right civil servants and military generals had different expressions, some shook their heads and sighed, some were indignant, some were helpless, and some showed disdain.
A young civil servant in his thirties said with relief: "Father has done his best for the people of Xuzhou, so why blame yourself too much? It's just that the world is in chaos, sweeping Kyushu, and being in the torrent of this great controversy, how can we be alone? ? Now Wu soldiers are coming to invade, and I will swear to defend the city to the death, and live and die with the soldiers and civilians of the whole city!"
His name was Ren Zhongshi, he was the eldest son of Ren Mao, he was erudite and talented, although he was a scholar, he was courageous and well-known in Xuzhou.
When Ren Mao heard this and looked at Ren Zhong again, his eyes were not without excitement and relief. However, only for a moment, he thought sadly: "However, the order given to us by King An is to let us resist for a while, then abandon the city and retreat to the north..."
He knows what the other party is worried about when he is responsible, and he is also the only person in Wuning who knows this plan.
He pondered for a moment, and when he raised his head, he had already made up his mind, "Father! Although the Wu army is strong, it has traveled a long distance to come here. The art of war is so powerful that it is very powerful. General, we will wait for work at leisure, so we may not be able to defend the city! To protect the people of Xuzhou from military disasters." , I am willing to do my best to fight the enemy to the death!"
Ren Mao glanced left and right.
Up and down the city, besides the soldiers, there were also many young and strong men carrying rocks, rolling wood, arrowheads and equipment to the top of the city. These Xuzhou people have always been grateful for Ren Mao's benevolent government.
"I can abandon the city and flee to save most of the army, but these young and strong people will definitely be killed... and the more than 100,000 people in the city will also be burned, killed and looted by the Wu army. At that time, the men will be driven into military slaves , the woman was raped-fornicated, the old Confucian died unexpectedly... As a governor of a town, he owes all his food and clothing to his father and fellow villagers, how can he push them into the sea of fire with his own hands?"
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Thinking of this, Ren Mao made up his mind.
When he looked at Ren Zhong, he resolutely said: "Okay! Since my son has the ambition to protect the environment and the people, I will live and die with you as a father!"
Take the lead with fists in the face of heavy responsibilities.
Civil officials and generals on the left and right were deeply moved when they saw Jiedushi's father and son being so loyal and courageous, so they said in unison: "Wish to live and die with Wu Ning!"
...
Xuzhou.
Zhongwu Jiedu envoy Zhou Mingrui stood at the top of the city, looking at the endless camp of the Shu army outside the city, although his face was terrified, there was no worry or fear in his eyes.
The deputy general said beside him: "Yesterday in the battle outside the city, our army lost more than a thousand soldiers. Afterwards, Wang Jian sent a letter of persuasion, saying that if the commander is willing to surrender, he can guarantee that the commander will still be a loyal envoy."
Zhou Mingrui snorted coldly, with disdain in his eyes: "Promise me to be a Jiedu envoy, if I had said this a few days earlier, my commander might have agreed. But until now, I still care about his things?"
The deputy general was silent for a moment, and persuaded: "Commander, the last general has something to say, I don't know if it should be said or not."
"But it doesn't matter."
The deputy general went on to say: "When Zhu Shuai led us to attack Xuzhou, it was almost effortless because of the help of Taoist soldiers. Later, the commander-in-chief was appointed as the Jiedu envoy of the Zhongwu Army and was ordered to fight against King An's trilogy. , but did not really engage in battle with the Pinglu Army. To be honest, the Zhongwu Army did not suffer much losses in the two battles, and now its strength is completely preserved... "
Zhou Mingrui waved his hand, a little impatiently: "What exactly are you trying to say?"
The lieutenant general hesitated for a while, but still bit the bullet and said: "Commander, the ups and downs in troubled times, the foundation is the foundation. Only with a well-equipped army and horses can the commander be able to advance and retreat freely. Now the Shu army is powerful, and if we fight to the death, we may not be able to defeat it." , it is better to..."
Zhou Mingrui interrupted him, and said with a sneer: "You are right. In troubled times, only those with strong soldiers and strong horses can survive. The Shu army is strong and our army is weak. A strong enemy will only damage you. You can make arrangements and get ready." Retreat tonight."
The lieutenant was startled, and unexpectedly said: "Withdraw? Where are you going?"
Zhou Mingrui said: "Of course it is to withdraw to the north, to join King Qi's team. When King Qi and Wang Jian fight in the future, both losers, I will reap the benefits."
The lieutenant opened his mouth and quickly accepted the order happily. He originally wanted to persuade Zhou Mingrui to surrender to the Shu army, but after thinking about it carefully, although Zhou Mingrui's opinion was more risky, it seemed that he could gain more benefits, so there was no reason to oppose it.
A sneer appeared on the corner of Zhou Mingrui's mouth.
He didn't tell anyone about Li Ye's order, and kept it strictly confidential. When the generals of the Pinglu Army re-entered the army to take up important positions after withdrawing to the vicinity of Bianzhou in the north, they were not afraid that the generals below would have other thoughts.
After the deputy general retreated, Zhou Mingrui still stood at the top of the city, looking at the Shu army camp outside the city with indifferent eyes.
Indifference is like the Shu army outside the city is not here to attack him, and Xuzhou is not his foundation.
He looks like an outsider.
In Zhou Mingrui's heart, Xuzhou was just a place he had been to, and if there was a better place to go to a higher position in the future, he would abandon this place. But now, to resist for a while, and then show the appearance of being invincible, take advantage of the situation to give Xu Zhou to Wang Jian, and obey Li Ye's arrangement, which is the bargaining chip he must pay to reach a higher position.
As for the others, Zhou Mingrui naturally wouldn't take them to heart.
...
The moonlight was falling out of the window, and the room was brightly lit. Li Ye sat on the low bed, twirling his brows with his fingers, looking very distressed and helpless.
In front of him, Miss Xu, who was pretty and almost dressed up, was confronting Shao Siming, who was dressed in plain clothes and had an ethereal demeanor. The flames in the former's eyes danced, and his back was slightly arched, like a kitten with claws and claws, ready to bite each other with its teeth at any time; the eyes of the latter were watery, without any emotion, as deep and clean as a starry sky.
After a while, Li Ye put down his hands and looked at the two of them weakly: "You two have been standing for almost half an hour, are you planning to stand for the whole night?"
The angry Miss Xu was unwilling to admit defeat, she turned her head and said aggrievedly: "It has always been my duty to serve 'King An', and I am in charge of food, clothing, housing and transportation. Why do you want to drive me out now? I am not convinced!"
The incident happened half an hour ago, and it was already late at night. Miss Xu brought a supper, and drank a few pots with Li Ye, but this time she was not drunk, so she was not going to leave, and she had to stay in the house middle.
Just when Li Ye was a rascal, Shao Siming floated in and stood in front of Miss Xu. Without saying a word, she tried to use the power of her cultivation to send him away... In fact, she did blow him away. Shocked out. This is also the reason why Miss Xu's hair is a little messy now, and she looks like fried hair.
Shao Si Ming didn't speak, but let out a rare cold snort.
The meaning was very clear, and both Li Ye and Miss Xu understood: It is okay to serve King An, but there is no way to serve him in bed!
Li Ye shook his head and smiled wryly, and waved his hands: "Okay, okay, you all go down, I will rest by myself."
Shao Siming and Miss Xu walked out of the room step by step while you looked at me and I looked at you.
This action is normal for Miss Xu and fits her personality, but it is very rare for Shao Siming.
The two had just left when Song Jiao walked in, holding a two-point battle report in her hand.
"Xuzhou and Xuzhou fell one after another according to the plan. But... the process is a little different."
Li Ye took the battle report, just glanced at it, then stood up with a solemn expression.
"The Xuzhou Wuning Army refused to act according to the plan, and fought bloody battles with the Wu Army for three days... Jiedu envoy Ren Mao, whose eldest son Ren Zhongshi died in the battle. Today at Youshi, the city of Xuzhou was destroyed, and the remnants of the Wuning Army retreated To Konju... ”
"Xuzhou Zhongwu Army guarded the city for one day and abandoned the city that night. Most of the soldiers and horses have successfully withdrawn..."
Li Ye put down the military newspaper.
Song Jiao asked, "What do you want to say?"
Li Ye was silent for a moment, "according to the plan to support the two armies."
Song Jiao took a deep look at Li Ye, and finally swallowed the words that came to her lips, and backed away silently.
Li Ye knew what she wanted to ask.
Xuzhou Wuning Jiedu envoy Ren Mao and his son fought bloody battles for three days, resulting in excessive damage to the Wuning army and a great reduction in combat power, which has violated Li Ye's request.
Li Ye didn't say much, but he didn't mean to blame.
Behind the two battle reports, there is also a tip report from the Tsing Yi Yamen.
"After the city of Xuzhou was broken, Gao Pian feared the might of Xuzhou's military and civilian forces. In order to appease the resistance of the army and the people in the city, he strictly ordered the three armies not to plunder the people after entering the city, and the order in the city was orderly..."
"When Wang Jian entered Xuzhou, the Shu army burned, killed and looted wantonly. The city was ablaze and the cries were earth-shattering..."