Goose Three Kingdoms

Chapter 526 Leave no escape route

At three o'clock in the morning, a circle of campfires was burning outside the south gate of Ji County.

In the campfire was a pile of firewood, on which lay seventy-four knights who had died in the battle.

They have all been given new uniforms, and those with facial wounds or broken limbs have had their bodies stitched up.

The black bear held the torch and walked around the firewood pile, then came to the upwind side, took a few steps back, and threw the torch to the bottom of the firewood pile.

The north wind blew and the fire spread rapidly.

At the same time, he also swung out black and white magic power, which was completely cleansed in an instant.

On the south city tower, Wei Yan clenched his left fist and rested his elbow on the railing, looking down at the rising flames, his eyes moving upwards as the flames rose.

More than 3,000 heads were brought back in the daytime battle. He mobilized the garrison in the city to assist in the cleansing, and only then were they hung and inspected before dark.

The prisoners were driven back in numbers numbering nearly 4,000, and there was not a single wounded person among them.

There were so many horses that Wei Yan was going crazy.

He didn't expect that the coalition of powerful Youzhou forces was so weak; it might also be that the troops under the command of the Grand Marshal were too brave and fierce.

He did not think there was anything wrong with the cremation ceremony outside the city. If these soldiers who died in the battle were alive, they could be placed in the counties and prefectures and serve as generals of a hundred men or team officers without any problem.

Wei Yan was just about to go down the city wall to welcome the Grand Marshal into the city, but he did not expect that the Grand Marshal's chariot did not turn around, but instead went south along the road.

Soon Fa Zheng put on his armor, climbed up the tower and said to Wei Yan: "General Wei, please close the city. The Grand Marshal will go to meet General Wenyuan."

"But isn't Zhang Wenyuan swimming in the water?"

When Wei Yan asked, Fa Zheng just smiled and did not answer.

Wei Yan also realized that he had asked too many questions, so he bowed, turned around and told the gate supervisor: "Close the door."

The gate supervisor agreed and left quickly.

Fa Zhengze looked up at the night sky. The stars were bright tonight, but there was no trace of the moon.

In one battle, seven thousand cavalry were captured and killed. This was only the initial achievement of our side. Zhang Liao's pursuit would ensure that at least a thousand people would be captured, and about two thousand would be captured.

Even if this number of prisoners of war killed 8,000 cavalrymen, the combined losses of the Youzhou rebels and Jizhou soldiers would be at least 11,000 or 12,000.

The fleeing knights would often die in unclear circumstances while stranded in the wilderness.

It was many days later before they managed to return to the team.

During this period, their existence can be temporarily ruled out.

Even if the defeated soldiers know the way, after suffering such a devastating blow, how many of them would be willing to voluntarily return to the establishment?

On the north tower of Zhuo County, after Lu Yu left, Yuan Shang, wearing armor and several layers of turban on his head, stood in front of the railing on the second floor to enjoy the breeze.

Li Fu brought a jar of warm rice wine and said, "My lord, Lu Yu has been sent out of the city."

Yuan Shang caught the jar of wine, raised it up, took a sip from the spout, and swallowed it, saying, "Do you think this man can persuade Tian Yu and Xian Yu Fu?"

To the north of Zhuo County is Ji County, and they are only a hundred miles away from the Xishan camp led by Tian Yu.

Now is the time to coordinate command and advance step by step.

Yuan Shang only planned to advance northward to the south bank of the river tomorrow, block the wooden bridge and the ferry, and set up a camp along the south bank of the river.

After setting up the camp, they divided their troops into several groups and established camps on the north bank, and then advanced towards Ji County step by step.

Although this is more tiring, he believes that his officers and soldiers prefer this way of sweating.

It is about to enter August and the weather is getting cooler, which has enabled the heavy infantry to fight in armor for a long time.

Li Fu thought for a moment and said, "My lord, I think Lu Yu might be lying in order to escape."

“I have the same concern.”

Yuan Shang took another sip of wine and said, "He has the courage to punish and dress up, how can Lu Yu not be afraid? Cai family is a lesson for us, the whole Lu school falls on him, he cherishes his life more than anyone else. If you want to go, go. Killing him will only bring harm, no benefit."

If Lu Yu really had ulterior motives, staying in Zhuo County would be an unstable factor given Lu Yu's influence.

Lu Yu took the initiative to leave, and Yuan Shang just agreed. Li Fu also said: "The brothers Lu Kuang and Lu Xiang died in battle one after another, and the officers and soldiers in the central army were depressed. However, the other troops were not affected and their morale was even higher."

The Lu brothers were from the Lu family of Dongping and were valued by Yuan Shang because they were not from Jizhou.

The brothers were killed in battle, and the cavalry force directly under Yuan Shang was also severely damaged. It was normal for the morale of the central army to fluctuate.

The other armies were made up of soldiers from big families and powerful tribes. There were complicated relationships between the upper and lower levels, so they naturally shared a common hatred of the enemy.

Yuan Shang also understood Li Fu's meaning. The central army could not suffer any more damage.

After thinking for a while, he said: "Since the morale of each army is good, they can be the vanguard tomorrow. Leave the central army in Zhuo County to recuperate, and when the morale is restored, they will be transferred to the front line."

"Yes, I will explain it in detail to each family."

Li Fu also came from a prominent family in Julu. At times like this, it was necessary to communicate with each family at all times and to maintain a consistent attitude.

Any selfish behavior will be infinitely magnified, causing power to be dispersed and unable to be used in one place.

Seeing that there was nothing else to do, Li Fu took his leave and went to lobby various families.

Since the death of Yuan Shao and the expulsion of Yuan Tan's followers, the internal order in Hebei has become stable.

Shen Pei, the chief secretary of the general's office, was like a prime minister; another old minister, Feng Ji, went to manage Yanzhou and prepare to seize the two states of Yan and Yu.

Although the two states of Yan and Yu were empty, what was empty were the registered households in the counties and prefectures, while the estates of the wealthy families outside the counties and prefectures were still prosperous.

If one wants to take over the two states of Yan and Yu, one must unite these powerful families, and sooner or later one will inevitably become hostile to Guanzhong.

At present, bandits are rampant in the two states of Yan and Yu, and the manors of the wealthy families are scattered everywhere. Instead, they are at a local disadvantage and are in danger of being attacked by the bandits at any time.

However, due to the overall migration of Cao's army in Yan and Yu states, a large number of unowned paddy fields were left vacant... Many bandits roamed around and occupied these paddy fields, thus abandoning their bandit customs.

If a famine occurs, these bandits will definitely target the powerful and wealthy people who have sufficient savings.

The decrees of the governors of prefectures and counties sent by the southeastern court were difficult to implement, and many bandits seemed to exist specifically to rob and kill officials.

Therefore, although the southeastern court was determined to integrate the two states of Yan and Yu, the progress was slow, which exacerbated the anxiety and distrust of the powerful families in the two states.

In short, Feng Ji has done a very good job. If he continues to maintain this state, he will be able to capture the two states in the Central Plains without bloodshed.

Shen Pei and Feng Ji were in charge of internal affairs respectively, and below them, the young man Li Fu was the undisputed number one in the central government; and Gao Gan, the governor of Qingzhou, although he had a high position, his influence was far less than that of Li Fu.

Li Fu benefited greatly from the Hebei forces led by Yuan Shang, and it was only a matter of time before he would succeed Shen Pei in the future.

Therefore, when it comes to making choices about family interests, Li Fu can weigh the gains and losses from a higher perspective.

For example, at this moment, Li Fu's interests highly overlap with Yuan Shang's.

While Yuan Shang was drinking alone, he saw that the strongholds set up by the water in the north were gradually ignited, and fire spots were vaguely visible.

"here we go again."

Yuan Shang felt a little helpless. He really didn't expect the other party to be so difficult to deal with. He liked to fight in the dark. He cursed: "No wonder he is called Black Bear. The reason is here!"

Facing this unexpected night battle, Yuan Shang turned around and shouted, "Inform all the camps outside the city to hold their camps tightly and not to move rashly!"

"Here!"

Several Cao officials on duty responded and ran quickly to convey the order to the messengers waiting outside the city.

Yuan Shang stared at the end of his sight to the north. After about half an hour, he saw flames rising from Liangxiang County, a little northwest of here. It seemed that the entire city had been breached and set on fire.

Scouts went back and forth to investigate. One of them climbed up the city wall and said, "Liangxiang City has been breached. The enemy troops have burned the fodder and firewood stored in the city!"

"This is a demonstration for me!"

Yuan Shang expressed his feelings to Li Fu who had returned, and Li Fu looked extremely serious.

The opponent's ability to attack is too strong, this is terrible.

If they escape, and we cannot surround and kill them this time, who in the cities of Jizhou can resist them in the future?
Now, Li Fu felt that he didn't need to prepare any words, because the big names and powerful people in the army would fight to the death.

(End of this chapter)