Chapter 570: Stunned
When Qin Zhao saw Sun Congyi, he knew that the Sun family army had returned to Pingzhou. Their governor really dragged Sun Jiajun into his own bowl.
They welcomed him immediately.
Then, both Qin Zhao and Guo Chong looked at Lin Shan, whose ugly expression was not concealed at all.
"Deputy Gang Leader Lin, what happened?" Qin Zhao asked with concern.
"My foster father Wang Juntao was detained by Xie Zhan in Juzhang County, Kuaiji."
As soon as this statement came out, everyone present was surprised.
Qin Zhao and Guo Chong looked at each other.
Lin Shan sighed and told them, "Due to the strong interference of the imperial court, our Cao Gang will no longer be able to transport any items for you to Pingzhou, including grain and grass."
This was also the reason why he specifically disembarked from the ship to see Qin Zhao. He had to inform him and let them prepare early.
Qin Zhao waved his hand, "These are all small things."
Then, he asked with concern, "Is Mr. Wang's gang okay?"
Lin Shan felt warm in his heart, "If we comply with Governor Xie's request, our lives will be safe."
"That's good, that's good."
Then, Lin Shan seemed to have made up his mind, "If you need it, I can ask someone to help you transport a batch of grain and grass, but the amount cannot be too large."
In Lin Shan's view, the supply of food and grass is crucial to Qin Zhao's expeditionary force in Pingzhou.
Now that a group of soldiers like Sun Congyi have been sent over, food and grass are probably even tighter.
Qin Zhao shook his head, "Let's solve this matter ourselves. There is no need to implicate others." And Xie Zhan will definitely not leave any loopholes for them to exploit.
Guo Chong on the side agreed with Qin Zhao's rejection. Lin Shan might have helped out of good intentions, but he didn't blame them for being cautious. It was true that he couldn't trust anyone else who had never cooperated before. He was afraid that Xie Zhan had prepared a bag of food and fodder to hack them.
After talking about the matter, Lin Shan left. He really was not in the mood to stay any longer.
After Lin Shan left, Qin Zhao asked Sun Congyi how many soldiers and horses were left before the Sun family army transferred to Pingzhou.
After hearing the number Sun Congyi told him, Qin Zhao nodded. There were still 40,000 to 50,000 troops, so the situation was not the worst.
Qin Zhao asked some more questions, because the Sun family's army had only been in Pingzhou for a short period of time, and he didn't know much about it.
Therefore, after understanding the recent situation in Pingzhou, they then talked about the news brought by Lin Shan just now.
Guo Chong said with a smile, "Thank you, Commander-in-Chief, for trying to cut off our supply of food and grass. You are trying to catch a turtle in a urn."
Qin Zhao snorted, "Isn't this a lice on the monk's head? Isn't it obvious? This abacus hit me in the face. But does Xie Zhan want to devour our expeditionary force? He's not afraid of breaking his teeth!"
Sun Congyi on the side had been listening to them with open ears. He had just heard that the Caobang could not help them transport food and grass, and now he did not see them discussing solutions. He felt nervous.
Sun Congyi thought to himself, it has only been a few good days, are they going to tighten their belts again?
So he asked tentatively, "Brother Qin, do we have enough food and grass for our expeditionary army? If not, what should we do?"
"Why, are you worried about being hungry?" Qin Zhao asked with a smile.
"Of course I'm worried." Sun Congyi said bluntly.
Qin Zhao raised his eyebrows and smiled like a fox, "Don't worry, I won't let you and your soldiers starve."
"We have food and grass. Whether you can get it or not depends on your ability."
Sun Congyi rolled up his sleeves with an expression that said, "I'm not sleepy if I want to talk about this."
"Brother Qin, feel free to take action."
Joke, compete with each other, their Sun Jiajun has never been afraid of anyone. The ones he brought out this time were all good players.
Seeing the unruly look on his face, Qin Zhao thought it was good that he could still maintain his youthful spirit after going through many hardships.
"By the way, the governor asked me to bring a letter before departure." Sun Congyi suddenly remembered this, took it out and handed it to Qin Zhao.
Qin Zhao and Guo Chong read the letters one after another, and when they looked at each other, they both saw incredible looks on each other's faces.
"Can this still happen?"
“The governor said it’s okay, so it should be okay, right?”
"Then adjust the combat strategy."
At this moment, the city gate guard reported, "General, military advisor, there is a man outside the city gate. He says he is Bai Xingzhi, a subordinate of King Jin, and wants to see you."
Bai Xingzhi? Isn't that the think tank under King Jin? What is he here for?
Qin Zhao didn't know why.
Guo Chong was thoughtful.
"Invite him in." Qin Zhao felt that he could first listen to the other party's intention.
When Bai Xingzhi was invited in, only Qin Zhao and Guo Chong were left in the meeting hall. Yue Shu went to inspect the barracks, while Sun Congyi went to settle the army because the garrison area for the army he led was designated.
After Bai Xingzhi came in, he looked at the two of them without any trace.
After a brief exchange of greetings between the two parties, Bai Xingzhi went directly to the topic and told Qin Zhao that their King Jin was willing to have good relations with Pingzhou, and to show his sincerity, he was willing to give up Qu Tao to Pingzhou.
Qin Zhao and Guo Chong looked at each other, but they didn't expect that the meat hanging by their mouths, which they had endured without eating for so long, would now come to their mouths.
They had previously analyzed that the King of Jin, with only 50,000 troops left, could not defend the four counties of the East China Sea, and in the end he could only shrink the front either actively or passively.
Now it seems that King Jin is planning to take the initiative to shrink the front line.
Smart approach.
Qin Zhao smiled and said, "Mr. Bai, since the King of Jin sincerely gives in, it would be disrespectful for us to refuse. On behalf of our governor, I would like to express my sincere gratitude."
Bai Xingzhi paused holding the tea. He was ready to thank and decline three times, but now he didn't need to.
"General Qin Zhao is too polite."
"Mr. Bai, is the King of Jin often upset by Xie Zhan and others?" Qin Zhao asked.
"Of course he is upset."
"Mr. Bai, we in Pingzhou have felt the King of Jin's sincerity, and we have no way to repay him. If the King of Jin is upset by Xie Zhan, we can send troops to teach him a lesson!"
Bai Xingzhi couldn't help but twitch his mouth. Is Pingzhou so impolite? The current location of the Pingzhou Expeditionary Force is in the north of the East China Sea, and Xie Zhan is currently in Kuaiji, which is in the south of the East China Sea. The territory in between belongs to the King of Jin.
In other words, if the Pingzhou Expeditionary Force wants to fight Xie Zhan, it has to borrow a road or take over the territory in between.
"Let's see about this." Bai Xingzhi laughed.
Qin Zhao nodded, and knew that the King of Jin probably didn't want to give them so many cities in Pingzhou for free.
Next, Bai Xingzhi asked the King of Jin to withdraw from Qutao and hand it over to Pingzhou.
When Bai Xingzhi saw the Pingzhou soldiers put the big flag with the word "Ping" on the top of the city, he sighed in his heart.
After the matter was settled, Bai Xingzhi took away the troops withdrawn from Qutao.
Before leaving, Qin Zhao and Bai Xingzhi said, "Mr. Bai, we in Pingzhou have accepted your gifts. You go back and tell the King of Jin that you will be our good friends in Pingzhou in the future. We in Pingzhou are usually very generous to friends. You can look forward to it."
Later, when Sun Congyi learned the news, he was stunned.
He didn't expect it at all. In just one meal, they, Pingzhou, won a city without a single soldier?
How did Pingzhou fight so smoothly?