Chapter 447

"Zhao Long called himself the animal husband of Jizhou, and was stationed in Yecheng, preparing to go north to Changshan to fight against the Huma of Bingzhou."

"Report, there is a person claiming to be Xu Ziyuan who wants to enter the city."

Zhou Yafu was discussing with Du Ruhui to attack Yecheng, and the soldiers defending the city reported to Zhou Yafu.

"Xu Ziyuan? Could it be Xu You?"

Zhou Yafu remembered that Yuan Shao's counselor had offended his lord.

Whether to take him in or not is another question.

Du Ruhui thought for a while, and said to Zhou Yafu, "If the lord is present, in order to get Jizhou, unless he has a deep hatred with Xu You, he will definitely take him. The general can open the city gate."

Zhou Yafu listened to Du Ruhui's analysis, so he waved: "Bring Xu You to see me."

Soon a strategist was brought over by the soldiers, and he adjusted his clothes: "The ferry has been occupied by your soldiers and horses from Yanzhou. I want to go south. Please make it convenient for me and my family to return to the hometown of Nanyang."

Du Ruhui stared at Xu You: "Xu Ziyuan is a great talent, why would he be willing to live in seclusion in his hometown of Nanyang? Now that the world is in chaos, and there are many heroes rising together, could it be that Xu Ziyuan is unwilling to make a career?"

Xu You said: "Yuan Benchu ​​had a bad relationship with his subordinates, and he was defeated and captured. Now Zhao Long advocates Jizhou and reuses the Hebei family. I am a native of Nanyang, and I am excluded. I am afraid that I will not be taken seriously. I have lost my mind and want to live in seclusion in the countryside."

Du Ruhui still stared at Xu You with a half-smile, his eyes seemed to see through Xu You's inner thoughts, Xu You couldn't help being surprised.

As one of Tang Taizong's two great advisors, Du Ruhui was probably even more capable than Tian Feng and Ju Shou. Xu You's simple prevarication was impossible to hide from Du Ruhui.

Du Ruhui's current intelligence has reached 96, and it is not difficult to see through Xu You's thoughts.

"Ziyuan don't want to make fun of me, presumably Ziyuan already has the intention of taking refuge in the new master, so he went south."

Du Ruhui's eyes let Xu You know that there was no need to detour. Du Ruhui was one of Chutian's important advisers and could not hide anything from his eyes.

Xu You replied, "Cao Amo and I are old friends, and we plan to rely on him to make a living."

"Cao Mengde is now serving as a general under the command of Yanzhou Mu, Ziyuan is better to go directly to Yanzhou Mu instead of relying on Cao Mengde, and he will still be the mastermind in the future."

"Yanzhou Mu and I have a gap, and they reuse the Xuzhou family, how can they use me?"

"Yanzhou Mu has the world in mind, and if he has no tolerance, wouldn't Qingzhou Master Zhao and Yanzhou Cao Mengde all die for Yanzhou Mu? Cheng Yu and Man Chong of Yanzhou aristocratic families, in the management of Yanzhou, are there any biased Xuzhou aristocratic families? Please don't need to. Suspect."

Du Ruhui's words opened Xu You's heart.

He and Chutian didn't seem to have any unsolvable hatred. They used to be their masters and aimed at each other. As long as Chutian could tolerate him, they could still be reused.

As for Zhao Long, who reused the Hebei family, in order to clear the factional disputes within Yuan Shao as soon as possible, it seemed that he was too hasty, causing Xu You to flee.

In a sense, Xu You is also a talent, otherwise Yuan Shao would not be one of the masterminds.

"Where is the Yanzhou Shepherd?"

"We are attacking Yuzhou."

"It's a pity, a pity..."

Xu You couldn't help but exclaimed that it was a pity.

Zhou Yafu asked aside, "Why is it a pity?"

Xu You replied: "Zhao Long is the new Jizhou shepherd, and Yuan Benchu ​​is under house arrest. He will go north to compete with Huma. The hearts of the people are uncertain. If the Yanzhou shepherd has already won Yuzhou and sent 300,000 to 400,000 troops, then Jizhou will be within easy reach, and Hebei will be within reach."

Du Ruhui said: "Yuzhou is a serious trouble for the confidant, and the Jingzhou army is going north. If the lord leads the main force to cross the Yellow River and compete with the Hebei princes, then the Central Plains will definitely be taken by the Yuzhou army and the Jingzhou army.

"

Xu You shook his head: "That's the pity."

Suddenly, Xu You's eyes lit up: "Zhao Long gathers his troops to go north, and there is bound to be a battle with Huma. Why didn't this general lead his troops to attack Yecheng, so that Zhao Long was attacked by the enemy?"

Zhou Yafu replied: "That's exactly what I meant, but unfortunately no one leads the way. Yecheng is the key point of Jizhou, and Handan is a corner of each other. If Yecheng is attacked, Handan will save it. If Handan is attacked, it is necessary to divide troops to surround Yecheng, otherwise Ye City will be rescued. My troops are not strong enough to destroy both cities at the same time."

Xu You paced anxiously.

If he decides to take refuge in Chutian, he must make a contribution to gain Chutian's trust.

Du Ruhui was still like an old fox, smiling but not smiling, patiently waiting for Xu You's advice.

Du Ruhui had never been to Jizhou after all, and his knowledge of Jizhou was limited to intelligence. Xu You is different, he has been working hard in Jizhou with Yuan Shao for three years. As one of Yuan Shao's masterminds, Xu You not only has some abilities, but is also familiar with Jizhou's topographical features and sophistication. If Xu You proposes a strategy to attack Jizhou, it may be more practical than Du Ruhui.

"The general can try to attack Yecheng. The wheat in Jizhou is about to mature, and the general is really unable to attack, so he can divide his troops to harvest the wheat and transport it back to Liyang. In this way, not only Liyang can get food and grass to defend, but also Yecheng and Zhao can be ordered. The Dragon Army is in a dilemma of lack of food."

"Secondly, it can block the Qishui water, dig a canal so that it flows into the Baigou, and increase the water volume of the Baigou, so that large ships can transport military supplies from Yanzhou to Jizhou."

"Third, looting the population of the surrounding villages and towns, increasing the number of Liyang, or moving to the south of the Yellow River, this is called the plan of extinction."

"Fourth, if you send people to Montenegro to contact Zhang Yan of the Montenegrin army, and order him to respond, you can get 100,000 Montenegrin troops to attack Yecheng, and the big thing can be accomplished."

"Five, order the scouts to spread news in Yecheng, falsely claiming that Jizhou was defeated, and people must be panicked, or there may be traitors who offer the city and surrender."

When Zhou Yafu was inferior in strength, Xu You still offered five strategies to Zhou Yafu.

Du Ruhui agreed with Xu You's five strategies, starving out food and households, winning over the Montenegrin army, disturbing the hearts of Yecheng, and digging a canal to open up a waterway for transporting grain.

"Ziyuan has made great contributions to his suggestions, and he will definitely be reused by the Lord in the future."

In order to win over Xu You who knew about Jizhou as much as possible, Du Ruhui praised Xu You a little.

Seeing that Chu Tian's advisors praised him, Xu You secretly thought that Chu Zimou's advisors were nothing more than that. If Chu Zimou could take Jizhou, it would be all thanks to Xu Ziyuan.

Despite this thought, Xu You didn't dare to be arrogant before he really captured Yecheng, but asked Zhou Yafu, "This general has always been silent, and I don't know what Xu Ziyuan's plan is?"

Zhou Yafu pondered: "When Zhao Long leads his troops north, he can act accordingly."

"If the two of you listen to my good plan, then great things can be accomplished, Jizhou can get it, and you will be reused by Yanzhou Shepherd. Yuan Benchu ​​did not follow my plan, which led to Zhao Long's great power. ."

At this time, Xu You couldn't help showing his superiority.

Du Ru shook his head in the dark, Xu You can do things, but not people. In other words, Xu You is too arrogant, greedy, and has bad personal conduct.

However, after Chutian captured Yuzhou, the next step was to pacify Hebei, so Du Ruhui had to leave Xu You for Chutian, even if it was to temporarily satisfy Xu You's character flaws.

As for the capture of Yuzhou, after Xu You seems to be less important, let's see if Xu You can be a man...

Personal ability determines the lower limit, while character determines the upper limit.

Du Ruhui privately asked Zhou Yafu to make Xu You his staff, and he was willing to serve as the second advisor of the defensive army. At the same time, he divided some of the spoils into Xu You and his family to satisfy Xu You's desire for fame and fortune.

Xu You was very satisfied. When he escaped from Yecheng, he was robbed of a lot of property by the rebels. Du Ruhui's generosity made him extremely satisfied with Chutian's power and felt Chutian's sincerity.

In fact, this is just Du Ruhui's arbitrary decision.

Fangmou Du Duan, Du Ruhui's decision-making ability is extremely strong.

In other words, even if there is no order from Chutian, he can make judgments according to the situation, even when it comes to personnel decisions, Du Ruhui's judgments are also accurate.

As soon as the current Xu You came to Liyang, he was stabilized by Du Ruhui, who believed that Chu Tian had already let go of his past suspicions and was thirsty for talents, and he, Xu You, was the talent that Chu Tian lacked.

Judging from the strategic purpose of taking Jizhou, Xu You is really a talent that Chutian must win.

"Liyang is located in Hebei, and the lord's army is located in Henan and Xuzhou. If Zhao Long defeats Huma and attacks Liyang in the south, Liyang may be captured at any time. Ziyuan's family should be sent to Yanzhou... No, even in Yanzhou in the future, It’s not safe. It’s better to send it to Xuzhou to avoid the war. Xuzhou has not had any war for many years, and the people live and work in peace and contentment, but they can keep their family members safe.”

Du Ruhui proposed to send Xu You's family to Xuzhou for refuge.

Although it is a refuge, it is more like a hostage.

At present, all of Cao Cao's clansmen live in Xiacheng and are under surveillance at the same time.

Xu You also knew this, but he was moved by Du Ruhui's series of actions, and the fact that he was a hostage was not uncommon, so he agreed to send his family to Xuzhou, and Zhou Yafu sent a team to escort him to cross the Yellow River south. .

Du Ruhui watched Xu You's family leave, knowing that Xu You could only work for Chutian, otherwise he would lose his family.

Not only that, Du Ruhui also wrote a letter to Chu Tian, ​​proposing to grant Xu You a high official and generous salary.

Zhou Yafu began to prepare his troops for a surprise attack on Yecheng.

In Yecheng, Zhao Long led a team of civil servants and generals, looking in the direction of Li Yang.

Li Yang was occupied by Zhou Yafu and became a nail household in Hebei, leaving Zhao Long like a sting in his throat and hard to swallow.

"Liu Bei and Tian Qi agreed to send troops, but they demanded to obtain more fiefs after defeating Huma. Otherwise, they would not send troops."

When the ambassador Liu Bei and a minister from Tian Qi's forces returned, they reported to Zhao Long about the mission.

Zhao Long wandered, and finally made up his mind: "If I can defeat Huma, I can give Liu Bei Hejian Kingdom and Tian Qi Qinghe Kingdom. Let them have two fiefdoms to recruit troops and horses. If they enter the Central Plains in the future, they will be able to recruit troops and horses. If they are named king of different surnames, their current territory will be the future feudal kingdom, and they will never break their promises!"

In order to make up the gap with Chutian as soon as possible, Zhao Long could only choose to compromise with Liu Bei and Tian Qi.

Liu Bei and Tian Qi may fall to Chutian's side, and the only thing that can win them over is more fiefdoms. Although this approach is extremely dangerous, Zhao Long has to do it.

When they join Chutian, Chutian will not split the earth and seal the king. Any princes annexed by Chutian are basically famous and have no power. The only powerful Cao Cao was suppressed by Wei Qing, and the number of troops and horses he commanded at the same time was small.

However, Zhao Long could tolerate Liu Bei and Tian Qi's self-respect.

This is the reason why Liu Bei and Tian Qi are still in his camp, because their territory is all in Hebei, and they will both prosper and lose.

Chutian could not tolerate that there were feudal lords within his own power who had not completely succumbed to him.

This is the biggest difference between Zhao Long and Chu Tian.

Of course, Zhao Long also knew that his approach was quite dangerous. Once Liu Bei and Tian Qi betrayed him, he would be the next Yuan Shao or the next Yuan Shu.

It is impossible for Liu Bei to be completely annexed by Chutian, so Zhao Long is not worried that Liu Bei will join Chutian on the premise of giving Liu Bei two prefectures.

The only variable is Tian Qi.

If Tian Qi is a Liu Bei-style character, he will stick to the last city. If he is a Zhang Lu-style character, then it is very likely that he will surrender immediately after Chutian's army arrives in Hebei.

It varies from person to person.

The two counties should be able to temporarily stabilize Tian Qi.

For the lost territory, Zhao Long took it back from Yuan Shao and Huma.

As long as he maintains his dominance in Hebei, he can command a few younger brothers.

Ju Shou said: "Xu Ziyuan is a family from Henan, and if he disappears this time, it must be Chu Zimou who went to Henan. If you think about it like this, Liyang's troops will definitely attack Yecheng."

Zhao Long nodded: "I have expected that this time, with Gao Jong (the prime minister of the Sui Dynasty), Shen Pei and two people to guard the city, and then with Han Chuhu as the general, Ye City will be safe. Participate in the assassination of me, fearing that I will be guilty."

Zhao Long pinned all the charges for the assassination incident on Yuan Shao and Xu You.

Xu You left without saying goodbye, Yuan Shao was placed under house arrest, and the Jizhou aristocratic families all believed that Yuan Shao and Xu You planned to assassinate Zhao Long, the hero of Gong Gao Zhenzhu. Xu You's departure confirmed this.

Therefore, Zhao Long actually won the favor of the Jizhou family, because Zhao Long eliminated the Henan family brought by Yuan Shao, and the Hebei family was the only one.

In Pingyuan, Liu Bei received Zhao Long's promise that after defeating Huma, he could obtain Hejian and Bohai, two prefectures, as shelters.

Liu Bei used the random recruitment order brought back from the national war to obtain a counselor, which was tied with Chen Xi, a foreign counselor.

The current group of Liu Bei's advisers and generals has begun to expand, secretly accumulating strength, and he is not willing to give up helping the Han family and competing in the Central Plains.

"The general situation of the world is still uncertain, and what Chen Xi said is very true. The lord can secretly make friends with Jizhou scholars. With the lord's charm and courtesy, the scholars in Bohai and Hejian will follow the lord. Maybe Jizhou is not the place for the lord to stand. ."

The new advisor said this to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei said curiously: "I was born in the north, I should take Jizhou and Youzhou as the most important thing, the world is big, where is there a place for my Liu Xuande?"

The advisor said: "No. The lord has a lot of talents and a hundred generals, but there is a lack of opportunities. You might as well accumulate strength secretly and make friends with the princes from all over the world. There are many tigers in the north, and the south is weak. If you can't stand in the north in the future, why not give it a try in the south. ? As long as the times turn around, the lord will definitely achieve a career."

Liu Bei thought for a long time: "What Jing Lue said is very true."