Chapter 518 Liu Chong: So I am a wise king (four thousand)
After days of intensive preparations, Liu Bei bid farewell to the emperor, put on military uniform, and led his army to the State of Chen overnight.

Because of the notice posted in Chang'an before, the news of Liu Bei's personal expedition was like a gust of east wind. With the footsteps of postmen, merchants, porters and others, the leading army rushed out of Chang'an and even reached Jizhou, Yuzhou and other places.

Jizhou

Yecheng
"Huff, huff, huff" Yan Xiang swung the hoe hard, panting as he cultivated the fields he had seized from the gentry.

He was surrounded by people who worked the same way as him.

But then a voice sounded, interrupting Yan Xiang's work, "Stop!"

Yan Xiang stopped what he was doing and used the hoe to prop up his aching back. He raised his head and looked over. He saw a young, long-faced official walking towards him. He immediately revealed the official's identity, "Sima Zhuge."

This Sima is not that Sima. The Sima in front of him is not the Sima who charges into battle, kills enemies and commands soldiers.

Instead, it was the Sima who was responsible for their labor and was entrusted with the duty of farming.

Not bad.

What Yan Xiang is doing now is to cultivate land.

Of course, this military farming is not the same as that military farming. The military farming initially proposed by Jia Xu was almost completely imitating Yuan Shao’s military farming, except that the target was changed from the oppressed young and strong people in Qingzhou to them and Yuan Shao’s own troops who were forced to surrender.

Fortunately, thanks to Xu Shu's strong arguments, all the collective punishment and corvée labor were exempted.

The state government distributed improved agricultural tools and provided oxen and mules for plowing the fields.

The land rent was changed from 60% to 40%.

As for why there was such a huge gap between them and the previous settlers, Yan Xiang could understand it after a little thought.

First, the court needed food, and the best way to get food was to cultivate the land. Second, Yuan Shao's farmers were young and strong people in Qingzhou, who were a good source of soldiers. The low tax rate obviously won the hearts of the young and strong people in Qingzhou.

"Don't be so stubborn, go and have a rest first." Zhuge Sima pointed to the shade of a tree nearby.

Yan Xiang clasped his fists in thanks, then walked to the shade of a tree carrying his hoe, thinking: It's not as harsh as before.

Zhuge Sima was Zhuge Gui's eldest son, Zhuge Jin.

Zhuge Jin had heard about Yan Xiang's idea of ​​military farming.

Yan Xiang’s idea is both right and wrong.

The court really needed food and fodder, so it decided to select some people to cultivate the land.

However, Qingzhou's request for a strong land tax is also a direction for future efforts.

All in all, this is a necessary measure when necessary.

In addition, it was not Jia Xu who proposed the military farming, which led to opposition from Xu Shu, but this was changed based on Yuan Shao's plan.

This was actually arranged by Jia Xu, but it was publicly announced that it was Jia Xu who proposed it and Xu Shu opposed it.

"Alas, it is really difficult for Military Advisor Jia." Even Zhuge Jin couldn't help but sigh.

Just as Zhuge Jin was about to leave and check on the rest of the people, an urgent message that arrived in an instant disrupted his plans.

"Yuan Shu proclaimed himself emperor. General Wei led the army in person." Zhuge Jin couldn't help but read it out.

When he read "General Wei goes to war", the worry that had just arisen in his mind was instantly dispelled.

Yan Xiang, who was sitting under the shade of a tree, was completely stunned and did not even notice the approach of his good friend Shen Pei.

Shen Pei wiped the sweat from his forehead and looked at Yan Xiang with confusion in his eyes.

"Brother Yan, what happened?" Shen Pei sat down next to Yan Xiang.

The silent Yan Xiang was like a machine, turning his neck stiffly, looking at Shen Pei in despair, "Brother Shen, Lord Yuan has proclaimed himself emperor."

“Ah???” Even Shen Pei was shocked. He naturally understood who Yuan Gong was that Yan Xiang mentioned. After all, who didn’t know the famous Yuan Shu!

He knew that Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao had always been at odds with each other, but they were brothers after all.

Even if Yuan Shu is incompetent, he can't be that bad, right? !
I never expected that Yuan Shu would actually proclaim himself emperor!
Is this crazy? !

Thinking of Yan Xiang having to deal with such a superior, Shen Pei couldn't help but feel sorry for him.

Shen Pei thought for a moment, looked at Yan Xiang very seriously, and said something that Yan Xiang could not believe.

"Brother Yan, why don't you just surrender."

what?
Yan Xiang's heart trembled, and he broke out of his trance and looked at his cellmate in disbelief.

Shen Zhengnan, who would rather die than surrender, actually persuaded him to surrender???
Chen Guo
"General Weiwei, will you lead the army in person?!"

Liu Chong, whose hair was disheveled and his face was dirty, was immediately cheered up when he heard the news brought by his personal guards.

Ever since Yuan Shu decided to take Chang'an directly and prepared to use Yuzhou as a springboard, Chen State and Guangling became the front line against Yuan Shu.

Although Yuan Shu had suffered a major defeat before and lost most of his soldiers.

However, what Liu Chong could not have expected was that Yuan Shu began to recruit soldiers and horses since he returned to Huainan, and he accepted all those who came, whether they were bandits or local thugs and bullies.

The Chen cavalry he sent out repeatedly to harass, but even with the help of new saddles, they were no match for Lu Bu and kept running into obstacles. Soon Yuan Shu was able to gather more than 100,000 troops.

Just as Liu Chong and Luo Jun expected, encouraged by the titles of official and noble rank, the morale of Yuan's army reached an incredible level.

Even Qiao Rui, who came to help, was shocked, "Are these really the soldiers of Lord Yuan Gonglu?!"

Faced with the powerful Yuan army, Liu Chong relied on the towering city walls, crisscrossing gullies, and powerful bows and crossbows to repel the invading Yuan army again and again.

But Yuan’s army was not made up of ordinary bandits. Even if there were many ordinary bandits, they would eventually become a group of scattered sand under the attack of bows and crossbows.

As long as they are dealt a heavy blow and frustrated, the bandits will always be frightened, the pace of their attack will inevitably slow down, and they may even fall apart due to internal discord.

But Yuan’s army was different. After resisting one wave, there was another.

Even Liu Chong felt a little tired, let alone the other soldiers.

Fortunately, when I was feeling down, a shot of adrenaline came my way!

The one leading the troops here was Liu Bei Liu Xuande. You know, Huang Zhong could frighten Lu Bu, let alone Liu Bei who was famous in Liangzhou and the Western Regions? !
"Hahaha!"

As he thought about it, Liu Chong even laughed out loud with his head tilted back.

Luo Jun reminded: "My king, quickly spread this news to the three armies!"

"!" Liu Chong came back to his senses and said hurriedly: "Quick, hurry up and do what the Prime Minister said!"

"promise!"

At the same time, Yuan’s army was stationed.

"Report! General Zhengbei! The morale of the Chen State's defenders has suddenly risen! There must be something fishy going on!"

"High?"

Zhang Xun sneered, "High morale? They are just cowards. They don't dare to come out of the city to fight with us. What's the use of high morale?!" Over the past few days, they have launched attacks again and again.

He used many means to motivate the soldiers, such as the promise of money, food or official positions, and also let the soldiers pretend to be Lu Bu's soldiers.

In short, the effect was particularly obvious. Even though these soldiers were just newly recruited soldiers, they still showed unprecedented enthusiasm and fought very fiercely.

For a moment, the State of Chen mistakenly believed that it was the main force of Yuan’s army.

However, generals including Zhang Xun knew very well that these were just illusions.

The newly recruited soldiers fight fiercely at the beginning of the war, but as the war drags on, they will gradually show signs of fatigue.

The State of Chen had an army of 100,000, although its soldiers were not good at fighting.

but.
To put it another way, even if there were 100,000 farmers with bows and crossbows defending the city, it would be difficult, too difficult to take it down by force.

Therefore, Zhang Xun and Yang Hongyi decided to write to Yuan Shu together. They divided their troops into two groups, one to attack Chen State with great momentum, and the other to attack Guangling County with their main force.

Everything that has been planned up to now has been within expectations.

Just as Yang Hong had imagined, Liu Chong did not dare to leave the city easily.

For now, we just need to follow the previous plan and just surround but not attack. We need to attract the attention of Liu Chong and others and wait for good news from Yuan Shu.

However, when the messenger said, "Report, General Zhengbei, the Chen guards are all spreading the news that General Wei Liu Xuande is about to come to the aid of Chen!"

"what?!"

Zhang Xun, who was still not taking it seriously, froze in his relaxed expression. His eyelids twitched violently, and his eyes widened uncontrollably. Even his voice trembled, "What? What? Liu? Liu Xuande? Rush to help the State of Chen?"

Zhang Xun suddenly felt his scalp tingling. If he had not escaped fast enough, he would probably have become a dead soul under the swords of Guan Yu and Huang Zhong.

Now there comes a Liu Bei who is even more powerful than Guan Yu and Huang Zhong.

This. This, what should I do?
Terror spread throughout the tent in an instant, and even the proudest general lost all trace of his smile.

They were all gloomy and sighing, and some even said pessimistically, "General, even Lü Fengxian is no match for Liu Xuande, let alone us! General, why don't we turn around?"

Transfer
It sounds good to say "transfer in", but isn't it actually the same as evacuating? !
Zhang Xun knew that if he evacuated now, he would be able to avoid Liu Bei's sharp edge.

However, in this way, Yuan Shu's attack on Guangling County will surely fail!
If he was blamed later, he might even lose his position as General Zheng Bei.

Furthermore
Isn't it a critical moment now?
If you retreat at this point, you won't get any benefits and you may even get into trouble.

Now that you have become the General of the Northern Expedition, who wouldn’t want to go further?

Zhang Xun then rejected all the opinions and said, "We cannot move forward! We must continue to besiege the city! If the thief king deceived us, what should we do? If it affects His Majesty's attack on Guangling, what crime will you be charged with? How can you hold your heads up when you return to Huainan?!"

"This" The generals looked at each other, this is right!
Seeing that the generals' faces had eased a little, Zhang Xun restrained his expression and comforted them: "You all know that I was able to fight my way back to Huainan during the pursuit of Guan Yu and Huang Hansheng, all because I anticipated the enemy first. This time I will advance and retreat together with you, and I will definitely ensure that your lives are safe!"

After hearing these words, the soldiers finally felt relieved.

As for coming to the aid of Yuan Shao, it sounded to them just like what Zhang Xun said.

The reason why Yuan Shu, Zhang Xun and Yang Hong suffered a great defeat was that Wen Chou was too incompetent and Yan Xiang made mistakes at the critical moment.

Seeing that defeat was inevitable, in order to stop the losses in time, Yang Hong and Zhang Xun persuaded Yuan Shu to retreat for the time being.

Yan Xiang, Wen Chou and others were unwilling to do so, and ended up in a great defeat.

Facts have proven that what Zhang Xun said was true. So, why should we worry?

"wrong."

Qiao Rui's brows were twisted into a shape of a "川" (river).

This behavior attracted the attention of Liu Chong and Luo Jun. Liu Chong asked directly, "General Qiao, why do you look so sad? What went wrong?"

"."Qiao Rui did not speak, but pondered for a long time.

Liu Chong didn't want to pay attention and was about to leave, but was grabbed by Luo Jun.

"Prime Minister, why are you holding me back?" Liu Chong looked puzzled.

Luo Jun lowered his voice and said, "Let's listen to what General Qiao has to say."

"General Qiao's words" Liu Chong's voice lowered uncontrollably. He glanced at Qiao Rui. He didn't have a good impression of Qiao Rui. If his daughter wasn't Chen Deng's concubine, he wouldn't have respected Qiao Rui. After all, Qiao Rui was a general under Yuan Shu, and he felt uncomfortable.

"Prime Minister, General Wei is coming to help the State of Chen. Do I still want to listen to General Qiao's advice?"

"Your Majesty, even if General Wei comes overnight, it will still take some time. General Qiao is the general who is most familiar with Yuan Shu's soldiers, and your Majesty must listen to his advice."

".The Prime Minister is right."

Liu Chong could choose not to listen to Qiao Rui's advice, but he could not ignore Luo Jun's words.

So Liu Chong stopped and waited for Qiao Rui to come up with some good ideas.

Fortunately, the wait didn't take long. After a few breaths, Qiao Rui relaxed his brows, his face became solemn, and his words became resolute, "Your Majesty, please send out a surprise force to test Zhang Xun's strength!"

"What?" Liu Chong looked strange as if he had heard something strange. Lu Bu's cavalry were watching him closely below, and he actually wanted him to send out a surprise force to test Zhang Xun's strength? !
Isn't this pushing his soldiers into the fire pot? !

Could it be that this person has colluded with Zhang Xun? !

Is it possible that this person deceived Chen Fujun? !

Liu Chong's eyes became more and more suspicious, and the suspicion in his heart became more and more intense, just when he was about to reject Qiao Rui.

Luo Jun pulled Liu Chong aside and said in a low voice, "Your Majesty, why not listen to General Qiao's thoughts before making a decision!"

"Let's hear what General Qiao thinks." Liu Chong was still a little hesitant.

Luo Jun said helplessly: "My lord, I will check for you."

"Haha, Prime Minister, it would have been great if you had said so earlier!" Liu Chong smiled happily.

A look of helplessness emerged on Luo Jun's face. He originally wanted to let Liu Chong make his own judgment so that he could get some training. After all, any discerning person could see that the emperor was making use of members of the royal family.

But Liu Chong always gave him an illusion. It seemed that the more Liu Chong thought about it, the more he would rush towards a situation that was out of control.

Liu Chong didn't think as much as Luo Jun did. With Luo Jun's assurance, he felt relieved and even looked like a wise king. "General Qiao, please tell me in detail."

Qiao Rui was surprised by Liu Chong's change, but now was not the time to be surprised. He said loudly: "Every time the Yuan army went on an expedition, they liked to defeat others in one fell swoop. Now our morale has recovered, and General Wei has come to help. If Zhang Xun was the commander, he would either take advantage of the situation to attack and try to seize the city before General Wei came to help; or simply retreat to preserve his strength. Now Zhang Xun neither attacks nor retreats. Therefore, I dare to guess that this is Zhang Xun's bluffing strategy!"

As he spoke, Qiao Rui lowered his head, clasped his fists towards Liu Chong, and said solemnly: "I am willing to lead the troops to investigate Zhang Xun's strength!"

"." Liu Chong did not answer Qiao Rui immediately, but looked at Luo Jun. Seeing Luo Jun nodded, he waved his hand and said, "Good! General Qiao! I will lend you 3,000 cavalry to find out Zhang Xun's strength!"

"promise!"

Qiao Rui thought happily in his heart: Look at King Chen, what a good and wise king he is!

(End of this chapter)