Chapter 3415: Destruction Before Construction

Chapter 3414: No destruction, no establishment

While Cao Chun of Yuyang was desperately resisting the Hussar Northern Territory Army, Xia Houheng of Jixian County could no longer hold on.

He thought for two days and hesitated for two days.

In the end, no strategy came up.

The reinforcements originally planned to be sent to Yuyang were also suspended due to Yi Jing's alarm.

To the north of Ji County, the beacon smoke goes straight into the sky.

In the south of Jixian County, because Yi Jing was attacked, three lines of smoke also ignited.

Xia Houheng stood on the city gate and stared at the smoke in the north and south without saying a word.

A strong sense of suffocation rushed into his heart, making him almost breathless.

How he hoped that this was just a nightmare, that he would be safe after dawn, and that all dangers would disappear.

After hesitating for two days, when Xia Houheng went up to the tower again and saw the scene in front of him, his eyes were almost filled with despair.

"Withdraw!" Chang Shi, at this moment, the Hussars are absolutely invincible to you and me..."

The deputy on the side comforted in a low voice, "The Hussars Northern Territory Army is determined to occupy Youzhou... In other words, if we don't withdraw now, we will be trapped in death!" 』

“If Jizhou comes to help, Youzhou still has a glimmer of hope. "Another person said, "But now even if Jizhou comes to help, it will still be restricted by Yi Jing, not to mention...most of the people in Jizhou..."

"Retreating to Jizhou is obviously safer than defeating the Hussars Northern Territory Army. 』

"As long as we can retreat to Jizhou, we can save most of our soldiers..."

"If Youzhou cannot be defended, that's fine. If even Jizhou is in danger, it will be really troublesome!" 』

"Long history!" The Hussar Northern Territory Army only has cavalry. Even after occupying Youzhou, they still need to separate their troops and control all parties... The speed will definitely slow down... If we burn all those that cannot be taken away before we leave, Already..."

"Strong walls and clear fields are the key to the art of war!" 』

A group of people were chattering around Xia Houheng to persuade him. It looked and sounded like they were doing it for Xia Houheng, for Prime Minister Cao, and for the country of Han Dynasty. In fact, they were doing it for their own lives.

Anyway, let’s talk about it now that we can escape!

As for verbal loyalty, everyone understands it tacitly.

"Long history!" Judging from the current situation in Youzhou, the greater our losses, the more likely the Hussars will continue to attack Jizhou! "The deputy looked at Xia Houheng, raised his hands and said, "Chang Shi, as long as we can break out of the siege, there is still a possibility of coming back in the future! Nothing can be broken, nothing can be established! General Cao’s strategy is indeed extraordinary! But...it's not practical! Now we have to fight in the field with the Hussars. Who can fight? Not to mention the encirclement of four counties, what if it was the encirclement of eight counties? To put it bluntly, General Cao... General Cao wants to use our lives to pave the way for him to succeed... I can see it clearly, how can others not know? 』

The deputy said, "If Jizhou doesn't come to help, how can we defeat the Hussars just by relying on you and me?" Please forgive me for being rude, but General Cao only focused on Youzhou, but lost the overall situation! But this is not General Cao's fault... After all, General Cao has the responsibility to defend the land, but Chang Shi does not! Please put the overall situation first! Make a quick decision! It's too late! 』

"What's the overall situation?" Xia Houheng hesitated, "If we evacuate, we will be blocked at Yijing, and the Jizhou reinforcements are delayed in arriving. If we are unable to advance or retreat, the whole army may be annihilated." 』

"Long history!" That’s why you need to evacuate as soon as possible! There can be no further delay! Changshi, look at the smoke around you! ” The deputy pointed at the surrounding beacon smoke, “If we drag it on any longer and are blocked here in Jixian County, will it count as the total annihilation of the entire army? Chang Shi, if all the soldiers of our Cao clan and Xiahou clan are lost... then if there is a change in Jizhou... then it will really be "the whole army is annihilated"... I would like to ask, Chang Shi, is Jizhou more important, or is it? Is it more important for the crown prince, or for General Cao's personal gain and loss of face? 』

Once said, this sentence is truly heartbreaking.

Xia Houheng took a long breath and gritted his teeth, "Retreat, retreat immediately, retreat to Jizhou!" We went to Yijing overnight and broke through and returned to Jizhou! 』

Orders to retreat were passed down one after another.

There was a sudden panic in Jixian County.

Although I was somewhat mentally prepared, when things really came, I still felt rushed...

In fact, some people started preparing two days ago, and those who are still waiting for the order to be issued before doing things will naturally be in a hurry.

The infantry must go first, and the baggage must follow.

The soldiers of the supervising team drove out all the civilians in Jixian County and pretended to be Cao Jun and stood in the direction of Yuyang.

The petty officials in the city were busy packing the gold and silver that they had collected with great difficulty, kicked away the crying mistress, and ran away in a hurry. Anyway, there were no pants in the Han Dynasty. people.

But not long after Xia Houheng was ready to evacuate Jixian County, even the fireworks burning the warehouses in Jixian County had not risen to the sky, and a situation that frightened Cao Jun occurred...

The white horse Xia Houheng was riding began to neigh restlessly.

"What's going on?" 』

Xia Houheng shouted.

He felt that he was riding a white horse, and he was the general on the white horse, a high-ranking gentleman, but he did not expect that he might also be a guy who would shout for help when encountering trouble...

"The Hussars are coming!" 』

"It's over!" The Hussars are coming! 』

Random shouts came and went.

Xia Houheng was shocked, "Why did the Hussars appear here?" Isn’t it in Yuyang? ! 』

"They must be the front troops of the Hussars!" 』

someone shouted.

"Long history!" The Qiusi Northern Territory has limited troops and horses. They have to besiege Yuyang and also send forward troops, so there must not be many troops and horses! 』

"right! That's right! There are not many hussars! As long as we evacuate in time, they won't care about us! 』

"That's right!" Long history! We must not be dragged and surrounded by the hussars! 』

There are different opinions, but everyone has the same idea——

Run quickly!

Before the hussars come after them...

Xia Houheng waved his riding crop and swore bitterly to the sky, "After breaking through, I will fight the qiaoqi to the end even to the death!" He wants to seize my country, the Central Plains, but it’s not that easy! 』

While they were talking, a clerk suddenly said: "Chang Shi, do you want to send someone to inform them and let the civilians who are blocking the hussars disperse?" 』

"Disperse?" ! Are you crazy? If it weren't for those civilians blocking us, we would have to rely on them to hold back the Northern Hussars' cavalry if we wanted to evacuate safely! 』

"Go, go, go!" Ignore this idiot! 』

…

…

From a distance, when they saw many cavalry appearing in the smoke and the three-color flags inside the cavalry array, Cao Jun's "soldiers" were frightened and turned around and ran away without saying a word.

The soldiers of Zhen Cao's army who were originally supervising the formation also immediately evacuated the battlefield.

Thousands of civilians were extremely frightened, crying for their fathers and mothers, running wildly on the battlefield.

But none of them noticed that the actual number of cavalry rushing out of the smoke was far less than they imagined in their minds!

And if you really observe carefully, you will find that the three-color flags raised by these cavalry are also a little twisted and weird, as if they were improvised and sewn casually.

If Xia Houheng sends soldiers to maintain the front, even if he only needs to hold on for a while, these "hussars" cavalry who suddenly appear will probably reveal their secrets...

The cavalrymen who rushed forward, with shabby armor and incomplete weapons, casually cut down some unlucky ones who were slow to escape, and then gathered together.

"This method works!" 』

"Ha ha! These Cao soldiers were frightened out of their wits! 』

"Walk! Walk! Enter the city! 』

"Hahaha! I didn't expect that I would be able to swagger into Jixian County today! 』

"Send someone quickly to contact the Hussars!" When the time comes, show off the city! Both you and I are great contributors! 』

"Let's go!" Go to the city first! Drink first! I want to eat meat! 』

"Hahaha……"

Before this, no one would believe that a group of horse thieves could take Jixian.

But now, it has become a reality.

…

…

Xu County, Chongde Hall.

A huge map was placed in the hall.

This is a cloth map, spread out like a big carpet.

"In case the Hussars break through Youzhou and want to contain their forces, there are several key points. 』

Xun Yu held a long staff and walked on the map. He clicked on several locations in succession, "Guangping, Zhending, Zhongshan... If the hussars are rushing through the city, they should use the river as a barrier, white horses, and Guandu." ...The southern line, with Xiangyang and Fancheng as the focus, can stop the Hussars from Hanzhong Wuguan going north..."

"Now in Wuguan Road, although General Pang and Huang are coming with their troops, Cao Zixiao has always been prudent and retreated to Jingbei when he saw that the situation was not right... What I am worried about is not these conflicts, but Jiangdong..."

When Liu Xie heard the name Jiangdong, he couldn't help but said "hmm" and expressed doubts.

Xun Yu saluted and said: "The people in Jiangdong are all villains who are greedy for profit and do not know loyalty... Before the sneak attack on Jiangling, if Cao Zixiao had not responded in time, recruited volunteers and adopted the strategy of doubting soldiers... Jingzhou would not have been lost." Nowadays, although Jiangdong is said to have returned to the old covenant and marched together, it is hard to believe that they are repeating villains..."

Liu Xie frowned slightly as he listened, "In this case, isn't Jiangdong..."

The first step is to use people from Jiangdong to go to Chang'an as angels. The second step is that you, Xun Yu, mean that the people from Jiangdong cannot be trusted?

What do you mean by this?

"Lu Zijing served as an envoy as a courtesy, but it cannot be without soldiers." ” No worries. 』

"As for the Hussars..." Xun Yu turned back to talk about the Hussars, his tone a little lower, "If Youzhou cannot be defended, then Jizhou will be defended." If Heluo cannot be defended, then Yanzhou must be defended... Only Jingzhou cannot be lost, if it is lost, Xu County will have no insurance! Therefore, I would like to ask your Majesty to order more money, food and manpower to support Jingzhou. 』

Liu Xie frowned, "Jingzhou has no money or food?" 』

"The land of Jingzhou has been war-torn for many years, and is divided into north and south. With this continuous battle, Cao Zixiao has already lost everything. If there is a big war, it will be difficult to sustain." "When Xun Yu said this, he couldn't help but sigh, "If Jiangdong is of the same mind, Jingxiang will be able to benefit from Jiangdong, and there should be nothing to worry about. However, Jiangdong is really... alas..."

Speaking of which, Liu Xie was the one who knew more about military affairs among the last emperors of the Han Dynasty. Although he has never actually led troops on the battlefield, the Han Dynasty has been fighting continuously since he was sensible. Over the years, he can be regarded as one of the emperors of the Han Dynasty who has a good knowledge of military affairs.

He is not as good as Emperor Wu of Han, the master of micro manipulation, but he is definitely better than his father, Emperor Han Ling.

It is precisely because he understands and can calculate the accounts clearly, and he deeply understands how much food will cost to fight...

"Is it difficult to reconcile my love for you?" Liu Xie asked.

Xun Yu replied, "Reporting to your majesty, if the Hussar army can be defeated by just one Hussar...peace talks will be useless...on the contrary, peace talks will be difficult to achieve." 』

Liu Xie was stunned for a moment, and suddenly felt like he was being shunned by Xun Yu. His first reaction was, are you, Xun Yu, messing with me again? Then he frowned and thought about it, and then he remembered that it seemed that Xun Yu didn't say whether the reconciliation could be successful at the beginning, he just said that there was no suitable candidate, and then after he asked, he recommended Lu Su.

Liu Xie added Liu Ye.

Liu Xie squinted his eyes and wondered, could it be that his calculations were also expected by Xun Yu?

You thick-browed guy...

Thinking of this, Liu Xie became somewhat displeased, "What Ai Qing said seems to make sense... But in recent years, the money, food and taxes of the imperial court have all been controlled by the Prime Minister's Office. I... I am a young man, I'm afraid. Yes...hehe..."

Xun Yu lowered his head and said: "It's not that the young man provides money and food, but that your Majesty is asking for an edict... In the land of Shandong, let's work together and work together..."

"Issue an edict?" ” Liu Xie was confused.

On the one hand, he said that a conciliatory edict may be useless, but on the other hand, he said that the situation was urgent, so Liu Xie's edict was needed to integrate the forces of Shandong...

Is this edict of mine useful or useless?

Liu Xie glanced at Xun Yu, and then fixed his gaze on the huge map in the main hall. He suddenly discovered with horror that Dahan, or rather the Dahan territory controlled by Shandong, was now very small, like a shrunken ball, lying quietly in the middle of the map, like a piece of meat. , placed on the chopping board.

Big man...

My big man!

Liu Xie's eyes filled with sadness, and then he said with some waning interest: "Just follow what Aiqing said!" 』

Over the years, he has relied on this and that, but nothing good has come of it...

Where did he go wrong?

…

…

White clouds linger.

Xun Yu sat alone in front of the hall.

To his left was a small desk with nothing on it.

Xun Yu stared at the empty desk in a daze.

After returning from the court meeting in the main hall, Xun Yu entered a state similar to emptying out after taking off his heavy court clothes.

The history of China is progressing through constant trial and error.

In this process, some people did it right and some people did it wrong.

Xun Yu didn't know whether he did the right thing or the wrong thing.

"Mr. Lang, I am asking for an audience with you." 』

The steward came to report.

Xun Yu stood up and said, "Please come to the main hall for a conversation." 』

After a while, Man Chong saw Xun Yu and raised his hands and said, "Your Majesty, this strategy is too dangerous!" 』

Xun Yu's eyes flashed, "What do Boning's words mean?" 』

"In the land of Shandong, there are many people who are happy and few who are worried," Man Chong said, "Now that you want to take advantage of foreign enemies, it is indeed a good idea to gather the strength of everyone... However, everyone has complicated minds and it is impossible to get together. If it fails, there will be no turning back! 』

Xun Yu was silent for a long time, "Bo Ning, let's wait... is there any room for maneuver?" 』

Man Chong turned his eyes in a certain direction and nodded slightly.

Xun Yu also glanced in that direction, thought for a moment, but shook his head.

Man Chong sighed, then took out a gourd from his sleeve and placed it on the table in front of him, "Yesterday when I went to the market, the shopkeeper of the restaurant saw me and offered me a pot of wine... Min Ke Let it be understood, but not know it... It is better to be like this. 』

Man Chong rarely drinks, but he always buys some drinks every time he goes to the market. It's not that he drank it himself, but when he came to visit Xun Yu, Xun Yu would probably not ask for anything else, but he would accept the wine in a small gourd.

Man Chong and others knew that Guo Jia was dead, and Cao Cao even cut off a section of his hair to be buried with him, but how did the common people know? When they saw Man Chong, they thought that Man Chong had not come for such a long time and must have gone elsewhere to buy wine. They just wanted to give Man Chong a gourd of new wine to try...

Man Chong couldn't say anything, let alone explain to the restaurant owner, so he could only accept the wine and go directly to Xun Yu's place.

Xun Yu saw a trace of pain in his eyes when he saw the wine gourd.

"Sure enough..." Man Chong nodded and said, "This policy... is a bit risky and is not your specialty. It should be a filial piety policy..."

Xun Yu's eyes suddenly became sharp.

Man Chong seemed to be unaware, looking up at the sky, "The world... Actually, Fengxiao also wanted to use this strategy to see who still has the heart of a big man and the world in his heart!" 』

When Xun Yu heard this, he was stunned.

Indeed.

When he and Guo Jia had a secret discussion at the Prime Minister's Mansion, the most critical issue was "people's hearts"...

The word "human heart" seems to be vague at first glance, but in fact it is powerful.

The big man has lost his "heart".

During the reign of Emperor Huan Ling, everyone knew that something was wrong. The eunuch dictatorship led to the complete collapse of the bureaucracy. The disaster of party supervision worsened this contradiction and conflict to the point of irreparable, and then came the Yellow Turban Rebellion...

But why did Emperor Huanling support the eunuchs? In the final analysis, wasn't it because Emperor Huan Ling had completely lost confidence in the corrupt bureaucrats in the court?

Dong Zhuo's chaos in government did indeed completely destroy the authority of the Han Dynasty court. But the reason why Dong Zhuo supported his troops and respected himself was not because the scholar-official bureaucracy in the court forced the generals to fight abroad and could only rely on military merit to protect themselves?

Local forces control the countryside and turn a deaf ear to the imperial edicts. Isn't it the guys who shout loyalty, filial piety, benevolence and righteousness all day long who are causing this?

All problems are big problems, and all problems are interconnected.

The three of them discussed and found that only people like General Fei Qian, who was in the ruined Guanzhong North, could establish a healthy and new political system...

So in the end, the strategy was compressed into four words: "No destruction, no establishment"!

When Xun Yu came to his senses, Man Chong had already said goodbye, and Xun Yu himself seemed to instinctively send Man Chong out the door...

This is habit!

Shandong has too many habits, too many...

Xun Yu walked back slowly, then picked up the wine gourd left by Man Chong, returned to the small courtyard, sat down at the small table in the front hall again, and then placed the wine gourd on the empty table.

The table was no longer empty, but the space next to it was still empty.

After a long while, Xun Yu picked up the wine gourd, uncorked it, took a sip, and then poured the wine onto the ground in the courtyard...