Chapter 184: Talking
However, Wang Jing already had a plan to defeat the enemy, so he explained it carefully to Dian Wei: "Don't worry, after the daytime battle, our army has established an invincible reputation. When the time comes, you can take these surrendered soldiers and stay by my side. As long as..."

After listening to Wang Jing's plan and layout, Dian Wei completely dispelled his doubts and said sincerely: "With this plan, it will be easy to break the city. I am willing to take the credit for my lord!"

"Hahaha, your ambition is commendable!"

"There is no time to lose, let's set off immediately!"

More than 500 people, taking advantage of the cover of night and the Yin army's tactics, sneaked towards the city gate. On the low city wall of Suanzao County, the defenders had lost their morale. They were all in a daze and did not put their guard on duty at all.

Wang Jing and Dian Wei easily led their men to reach the city wall using the ladders they had specially made during the day.

However, in the end, the preset energy circle on the city wall was triggered and it was soon discovered by the patrolling guards.

"Enemy attack!"

"Go and inform Sima Zhao!"

The defenders were all facing a powerful enemy, especially when they saw Wang Jing in the light of torches, it was as if they had seen a ghost.

"Qi... Marquis Qi!"

In the dim firelight, Wang Jing exuded an ominous aura, as if he was a ferocious beast from ancient times, revealing his ferocious fangs.

Dian Wei, wearing a double layer of cold iron armor, also exuded a terrifying aura, making the hearts and minds of the defenders dominated and controlled by fear.

Just as they were panicking, Dian Wei shouted, "Zhao Chong is so cruel and unjust that he made us kill each other. Are you willing to serve such a man?"

"This……"

The defenders hesitated. The fact that Zhao Chong ordered the soldiers to shoot arrows during the day had already made the soldiers very dissatisfied.

Later, when the defeated troops returned, Wang Jing's invincible image was deeply rooted in people's hearts. He was considered to be a god from heaven, and therefore no one had the desire to resist.

At this time, Dian Wei stood up again, and the fifty or so soldiers who defected with Dian Wei spoke out on the spot: "Marquis Qi loves his soldiers like his own sons. To work for him is much better than Zhao Chong and his ilk."

"That's right, I got to eat meat today!"

"I heard that the soldiers under Marquis Qi's command are never deducted from their food and wages, and they can eat meat every day. Don't you want to eat meat?"

In war, sometimes words are more powerful than swords.

Especially for the lower-level soldiers of this era, all the talk of being wise and loyal to the emperor and patriotic is just bullshit.

Many of them were simply forced men who came here. All they wanted was a full meal, and even that might not be satisfied.

The reason why they are still hesitant is that they are worried that their parents and families will be harmed after surrendering. After all, the heavy armored cavalry are foreign troops.

Wang Jing saw their doubts and announced in public: "As long as you are willing to turn against us on the battlefield, after the city is captured, Suanzao County will be exempted from land taxes for three years. I also solemnly promise that my soldiers will not harm the local people. Anyone who dares to disturb the people will be punished by military law!"

"Is this true?"

When the defending soldiers heard Wang Jing's promise not to allow his troops to plunder, they were all excited.

In their entire lives, they have never seen many armies that do not rob civilians. After all, even government troops are involved in robbery these days.

"There is no joke in the army."

Wang Jing's sincere attitude won their trust.

Because in the eyes of the defending soldiers, a strong man would not lie to small soldiers like them, so they all chose to believe Wang Jing's words: "We are willing to surrender, please Qi Hou will not break your promise."

"A gentleman's word is as good as his bond. I, Wang Jing, will never break my promise to the world. If I break this oath, I will be struck by lightning!"

With just a few words, the morale of the defenders was completely shattered.

Wang Jing took Dian Wei with him and recruited people along the way. Without going through any fighting, the team grew like a snowball.

By the time Zhao Chong came to his senses, several thousand people had gathered around Wang Jing.

What’s worse is that Zhao Chong doesn’t know how many people are ready to betray him, and how many of his subordinates are trustworthy.

"Sima, the situation is hopeless, shall we retreat?"

Several personal soldiers surrounded Zhao Chong and began to persuade him.

It would be more appropriate to say that it was an escape rather than a retreat.

"Do you want me to run away like a lost dog?"

Zhao Chong was very unwilling to accept this, and his eyes were flashing with anger. He lost the battle so unfairly, and was almost being played around by others.

"Sima, if you keep the green mountains, you will never be afraid of running out of firewood. If you continue to resist, it will be too late to regret it."

"Yes, I heard that Dian Wei and the five hundred soldiers who came out today have all surrendered to Marquis Qi, and you ordered arrows to be shot during the day, intending to kill them. Now that the city has been broken, will they let you go?"

The words of his personal soldiers finally reminded Zhao Chong. When he thought about the impending disaster, Zhao Chong no longer cared about his face and decided to run away immediately.

Zhao Chong, who no longer dared to trust other soldiers, fled with only a dozen of his followers. He rode out of the city gate and headed east, trying to escape to Chenliu.

However, Zhao Chong did not know that Wang Jing had already ordered Yan Xing to kill him halfway.

Outside Suanzao County, under the dim moonlight.

Zhao Chong was in a state of despair. He rode his horse at full speed through the night, thinking only of escaping.

Suddenly, a whisper sounded in his ears: "Sima Zhao, you are in such a hurry, where are you going?"

On both sides of the official road, a group of heavily armored cavalry suddenly emerged from the cover of night.

Although the other party did not raise the flag, Zhao Chong only needed to glance at the attire of the cavalry to know who the newcomers were: "Armored heavy cavalry, Yan Xing!"

Yan Xing swung the Tiger-Bending Golden Spear in his hand lightly, stirring the air, and then launched an attack with a light shout: "Zhao Chong, my lord has ordered me to take your life!"

A spear thrust out with extremely sophisticated moves, it was a superb martial art acquired through thousands of trials and tribulations on the battlefield, without so many fancy moves and actions, only simplicity and unpretentiousness, and moving forward!

"die!"

Although Zhao Chong had his sword drawn, he was unable to block even one of Yan Xing's attacks and was knocked off his horse and died.

In just a blink of an eye, the battle was over, and Yan Xing returned with Zhao Chong's head to report.

Just like that, in just one day, Suanzao County had changed hands.

When the main force arrived, they saw the open city gate and an expression of surprise appeared on their faces.

Especially Zhang Fei, who wanted to show off, was speechless: "How come the enemy fell down before I even had a chance to attack?"

The army camped outside the city, which made the people of Suanzao County secretly relieved. At the same time, they quickly accepted Wang Jing's rule and even welcomed the arrival of the Northern Army with joy. The people began to win over.

"Yunchang, Yide, let me introduce you."

In the tent, Wang Jing took Dian Wei to meet Guan Yu and Zhang Fei with a smile.

These three tough men have never met each other in the history of the Three Kingdoms, but now they stand together because of Wang Jing. Their predetermined destiny is being changed and reversed step by step, heading towards a completely different future.

Wang Jing looked at Dian Wei and said, "By the way, I didn't have time to ask you before, do you have a courtesy name?"

Dian Wei sighed: "When I was young, I killed someone and had to leave my hometown, so I don't have a courtesy name."

In ancient times, men’s courtesy names were usually chosen by their elders, and this had to be given to them after they were 20 years old.

Dian Wei killed someone at a young age and was on the run, so naturally he had no courtesy name.

Wang Jing thought for a moment and said, "How about I pick one for you?" "It's up to you, my lord."

Dian Wei was delighted and agreed immediately.

Although Wang Jing is young, he holds the official title of General Wei and Marquis Qi of the Han Dynasty. With such a noble status, he is indeed qualified to give courtesy names to his subordinates.

What's more, Dian Wei had just joined Wang Jing's army, and when he saw that there were other powerful generals of the same level as Guan Yu and Zhang Fei in the same camp, he was worrying about how to get closer to Wang Jing.

"You are a bright pearl, covered in dust for a long time. Today's battle has allowed you to shine brightly. Why not call me Jun Ming?"

"Thank you, my lord."

Jun and Ming are both characters with beautiful meanings. The former mostly refers to people with upright character, and also implies the hope of being granted a title of nobility, while Ming also alludes to Dian Wei's previous "throwing a pearl in secret", which is in line with Dian Wei's wishes, so he readily accepted the courtesy name Jun Ming.

Xun You and Guo Jia saw Dian Wei's sturdy figure and his loyal character, and immediately stepped forward as witnesses to congratulate Wang Jing and said, "Congratulations, lord, for getting another brave general."

Zhang Fei, a big rough man, stepped forward and patted Dian Wei on the chest: "Good fellow, you are so strong, you must be a good drinker, right?"

Dian Wei also had a good impression of Zhang Fei, the bold, black-faced fat man, and said with a big grin, "Of course."

The two men smiled at each other. They both smelled the scent of a fellow traveler from each other, a scent that only an old drunkard could emit.

Wang Jing didn't know whether to laugh or cry, and hurried out to remind them: "Yide, Junming, you are not allowed to drink during wartime. Even I am no exception to this iron rule. If you want to drink to your heart's content, you have to wait until the war is over. When it comes to the celebration banquet, you and I will not return until we are drunk!"

"Okay, it's a deal."

Although Zhang Fei was slightly dissatisfied, Wang Jing, as the commander-in-chief of the three armies, set an example himself, so he had nothing to complain about.

Then Zhang Fei remembered that Wang Jing had a lot of fine wines in his collection, and his eyes lit up immediately: "General, it's a deal, I want to drink that Shaodaozi wine, nothing else, it's strong enough."

"Okay, okay, I'll drink with you myself, and call Yunchang and Junming, and we'll get drunk together."

"Hahaha, well said, I'll get drunk first!"

The encounter between the two drunkards made Zhang Fei and Dian Wei feel that they had met too late, because they really had too much in common.

But for Zhang Fei, the only things he should not let down are good wine and his brothers.

But it seemed that he had another brother. After thinking for a long time, Zhang Fei couldn't remember who it was.

After taking Suanzao County, Wang Jing prepared to continue his advance.

Guo Jia, who was familiar with the situation in Yuzhou, reminded him: "My lord, the walls of Chenliu City are high and thick, not comparable to those of a sour jujube. If you want to take it, it may not be easy."

Guo Jia's original intention was to win the hearts and minds of the people, hoping to persuade Wang Jing to agree to some conditions from the local noble families, and then he would come forward in exchange for their defection.

Who would have thought that Wang Jing would not play by the rules at all: "Don't worry, Fengxiao, I have a special method for attacking the city."

Good fellow, Guo Jia was choked and speechless, and could only smile helplessly: "Then I will wait for good news, and I hope that the lord will win this battle."

"Haha, it's necessary."

Wang Jing was very confident only because he had indeed prepared a trump card, a trump card that was enough to change the future pattern of war.

Chenliu, the prefectural government office.

Zhang Miao was as anxious as an ant on a hot pan. The news of Zhao Chong's death in battle was a small matter. The real matter of life and death was that Wang Jing personally led the army to the east.

"Why did things turn out like this? Didn't Gongtai repeatedly guarantee that Wang Yuanxu would never go on an expedition to the east? What should we do now?"

Zhang Miao was so worried about such a life-threatening matter that his hair almost turned white.

Zhang Miao's civil and military officials, such as Dong Fang and Liu Yi, were also deeply uneasy about the Northern Army's eastward expedition, and their faces showed fear: "Governor, the Northern Army has already captured three counties in a few days, and now they are at the gates of the city. We should make plans early. Otherwise, once the city is captured, with Wang Yuanxu's overbearing style, we, the famous families of Yanzhou, may be in danger."

At this time, only Zhang Chao was a little calmer. He stood up and made a suggestion to Zhang Miao: "Brother, the only solution now is to ask the governor of Bohai to come to help. He is the leader of the coalition army. Now that we are being attacked by the northern army, he can't just stand by and watch us die, right?"

Although the alliance had long been disbanded, Yuan Shao's title as leader of the alliance was not lost.

Zhang Chao knew very well that he was Zhang Miao's younger brother, and that the two brothers would prosper and suffer together. Therefore, although he was the prefect of Guangling, he did not return after the end of the Suanzao League. Instead, he stayed in Chenliu with the soldiers recruited from Guangling.

But even so, they did not think they could repel Wang Jing's attack.

It was because Wang Jing was too famous, and they knew they were no match for him. Meanwhile, Zang Hong, a famous general whom Zhang Chao had recruited in Guangling before, was serving under Yuan Shao at this time.

Zhang Chao and Zang Hong had a close relationship, so he naturally regarded him as a lifeline, so he took the initiative to offer his help: "Brother, there is no time to lose. I will go to Hejian in person and ask Ziyuan to lead troops to rescue us. We will definitely be able to lift the siege of Chenliu. But before the reinforcements arrive, please defend the city."

Zhang Miao was immediately overjoyed, like a drowning man grabbing a life-saving straw, and he urged Zhang Chao, "Meng Gao, go quickly and come back quickly."

Dong Fang then suggested to Zhang Miao: "Some of our soldiers are following Meng De to fight against the Yellow Turban Army in Dongjun. Should we send someone to recall them?"

This gave Zhang Miao a headache. Leading Cao Cao to take control of Yanzhou was originally the plan of him and Chen Gong. The purpose was to unite various forces, gather the population and resources of the two states, and fight against Wang Jing, the great enemy.

After all, the new policies implemented by Wang Jing, whether it was land measurement or inheritance law, were greatly disadvantageous to aristocratic families and wealthy clans.

But now that the plan had just reached a critical step, Wang Jing took action, which made Zhang Miao very upset. However, the crisis of destruction was imminent, and he no longer had the mind to consider whether Cao Cao and Chen Gong would fail.

After weighing the pros and cons, Zhang Miao naturally chose to let his friend die rather than let himself die, and made a decision: "Recall them back. If they can't defend Chenliu, then everything is over. There is no future for them."

Outside Shouzhang City, Cao Cao’s army camp.

Chen Gong received a letter and his expression was gloomy after reading it. Cao Cao, who was attacking unsuccessfully, returned to the barracks and saw that Chen Gong looked unhappy. He immediately asked, "Gongtai, you look worried, but what problem have you encountered?"

"Wang Yuanxu marched eastwards from Hulao, and his troops have already reached the outskirts of Chenliu City."

"Why at this critical moment?"

Cao Cao was so angry that he wanted to draw his sword and kill someone. Liu Dai had just died in battle, and the whole Yanzhou welcomed him as the master. He was about to expand his territory, but at this most critical moment, he was attacked by someone in the rear.

Chen Gong also felt that something was wrong, and he couldn't help but be suspicious: "Too many coincidences, it's not an accident, but someone secretly planned it. This time, Wang Jing attacked too quickly, and the timing was too clever, otherwise why did he attack when our army was halfway through attacking Yanzhou?"

Cao Cao was shocked when he heard this. When he looked at Chen Gong, he showed an incredulous look: "You mean, Wang Jing has been keeping track of our army's movements?"

Chen Gong sighed helplessly: "Although I don't want to believe it, this is the only explanation at the moment."

"That makes no sense. Even if they did send spies to detect our route, it would take time for the message to be transmitted over such a long distance, right? As we all know, food and fodder must be sent before the armies move. Could it be that the Northern Army can march out immediately without any preparation? This is totally unreasonable!"

"The facts are right before our eyes. We have no choice but to believe them."

Thinking back on it now, Chen Gong could see clearly that Wang Jing had seen through his plan to capture Yanzhou long ago, and that Wang Jing had outmaneuvered him by attacking him halfway across the river.

Now the main force of Cao Cao's army is trapped in the battlefield of Yanzhou, fighting fiercely with the Yellow Turban Army, and cannot retreat at all.

But if they don't withdraw their troops to provide reinforcements, once Chenliu is lost, they will lose their rear base. Many of Cao Cao's civil and military officials, as well as ordinary soldiers, are from Yanzhou. Can they still maintain their fighting spirit?

How many people could abandon their wives and children and continue to follow Cao Cao?
"Now how do we get out of this dilemma?"

Cao Cao felt increasingly uneasy.

Once Chenliu was broken, he would lose the retreat route back to his base camp in Xuchang. Such a result would be devastating for him.

Chen Gong frowned and thought carefully, then suggested: "Chenliu has high walls and deep fortresses, and has several years of stored food. As long as we are well prepared, we can resist the attack of the northern army. For now, we should first defeat Qingzhou and the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans."

Cao Cao was also a decisive person. Retreating at this time meant that the plan to occupy Yanzhou would be in vain, so he immediately made a decision: "Let's first defeat Qingzhou and the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans and then return to Chenliu to fight a decisive battle with the Northern Army!"

Chen Gong nodded when he heard this, but he was already worried about the development of the situation. He couldn't understand why Wang Jing saw through his plan to praise and kill Liu Dai.

If it had not been prepared in advance, how could the Northern Army have intervened so quickly in this battle that concerned the future fate of Yanzhou?
For some reason, Chen Gong already had a bad feeling in his heart.

(End of this chapter)