Chapter 71: Managing Qingzhou and Keeping the Enemy at bay

After the welcoming banquet, Wu Song quickly became friends with the soldiers of Qingfeng Village.

He has a generous personality and is skilled in martial arts. Now he has strong financial support, so it shouldn't be difficult for him to win people's hearts.

The soldiers in the camp that Hua Rong had painstakingly trained accepted Wu Song's identity as the chief officer in just a few days and obeyed his orders.

The one who gives you milk is your mother, how much money does Hua Rong have?
The huge village was suddenly occupied by the Wu clan, which made Hua Xiaomei even more irritable. Every day when Hua Rong came home drunk, she would nag him for half an hour.

On this day, Cao Jie and his group were the only ones left in the Qingfeng Village's main camp.

Wu Song hung the map of Qingzhou on the wall.

Looking at this rough military map, Cao Jie felt it necessary to make a sand table.

My brothers are all rough men, but they don’t have the brains to understand this two-dimensional geography.

Even Lu Zhishen, the deputy commander under the old Lord Zhong, found it difficult to understand the map and lost his way several times.

For example, when he went from Mount Wutai to the Daxiangguo Temple in Tokyo, he should have gone all the way south, but he took many detours and ended up at Taohua Mountain in Qingzhou, where he beat up the little bully Zhou Tong who forced him to marry him, and took away the gold, silver and wine vessels in the village, then left without saying goodbye.

The sand table is simple and clear at a glance.

About a thousand years ago, General Ma Yuan gathered rice into a mountain and used the rice to form valleys, gullies and other terrain features in front of Emperor Guangwu. He then pointed out the terrain and marked the routes for the various troops to advance and retreat, with all the twists and turns and hidden depths clearly visible.

Sand tables have existed since ancient times.

However, making a sand table requires professional talent and on-site inspections, and there cannot be any major mistakes.

Sun Tzu said: War is a matter of great importance to a state, a matter of life and death, a road to survival or destruction, and must be carefully considered!

"Brother, Qingfeng Village is here. There are 230 combat soldiers and more than 400 auxiliary soldiers. Hua Zhizhai personally trains every day and follows orders. They are capable of fighting."

Wu Song marked them and said, "This is Qingfeng Mountain, this is Erlong Mountain, and this is Taohua Mountain."

"These three mountains are approaching Qingfeng Village with a siege force. Among them, Qingfeng Mountain is the strongest. In addition to the three man-eating monsters, there are also 700 to 800 bandits who have robbed houses over the years and fought several battles with Qingfeng Village. They are considered to be a force to be reckoned with..."

"Erlongshan is second in strength. Its leader, Deng Long, was originally the abbot of Baozhu Temple on Erlongshan Mountain. He was nicknamed "Golden Eyed Tiger". He did not abide by the rules and regulations. He led all the monks to grow their hair and return to secular life. He also gathered thugs and bandits and gathered a crowd of four to five hundred people to occupy Erlongshan Mountain and rob people and steal property."

"In order to prevent the government from arresting him, he took advantage of the high and dangerous terrain and built a fortress on Erlong Mountain for self-defense. He set up three passes at the foot of the mountain, with wooden cannons and rocks placed on top of the passes, and fortifications were set up all around, making it easy to defend but difficult to attack."

"The weakest is Taohua Mountain. But last time, Brother Zhishen took away the gold and silver wine vessels of Li Zhong and Zhou Tong and left without saying goodbye. I think it will be difficult for Brother Zhishen to convince Taohua Mountain on his own."

Everyone looked at the map, totally confused. Where are all these things?
During a big battle, he, Ruan Xiaoqi, Jiao Ting and others would not even blink, but this time they had to use their brains and felt a little itchy.

Cao Jie stood in front of the map, transforming the two-dimensional geography into three-dimensional mountains, rivers and streams in his mind, and his thoughts spread to the entire Qingzhou.

He picked up the marker and stuck it on Qingzhou Prefecture, and asked, "Do you know that there is a Huang Xin in Qingzhou?"

"This man is the military commander and calls himself the Three Mountains Guardian." Wu Song did his homework and shook his head.

"Brother, he is not worthy of his reputation, and his martial arts are not that good, but he is very arrogant. He wants to wipe out the bandits in Qingfeng Mountain, Erlong Mountain, and Taohua Mountain. His reputation has spread, but he has done nothing. He is not worth mentioning."

Huang Xin’s martial arts skills are naturally not that great, but that doesn’t mean he can only brag.

In the background of Water Margin, bandits in various places are a headache for local officials. To conquer them? The chances of success are slim; to not conquer them? They will be punished.

In desperation, the prefect and the county magistrate could only create momentum.

As long as the bandits do not attack the city, the local officials' creation of momentum is successful, proving that they have not let the bandits go. It's just that the hills occupied by the bandits are easy to defend and difficult to attack, so it is difficult for local officials and troops to wipe them out in one go.

There are many bandits in Qingzhou, and they are very strong. It is difficult for the prefect to make any substantial progress in his expedition. He can only maintain the status quo. If the bandits don't come, the prefect won't fight.

Huang Xin saw the prefect's difficulties very clearly, so he shouted slogans, saying that he would flatten the Three Mountains, in order to help Murong prefect build momentum, win trust and reuse. Murong prefect also knew Huang Xin's purpose, so he would not really let him go, which would lead to failure and accountability.

Huang Xin dared to say that because he understood the needs of carnivores. He relied on the support of the prefect. As long as the bandits dared to attack him, a boastful little official, the prefect would mobilize all the troops in Qingzhou for his future. By then, even if he could not win, he would not lose.

Moreover, without the geographical advantage, the bandits would be easier to suppress.

Military is an extension of politics, and politics is a continuation of economy!
Wu Song's vision was not broad enough, so he naturally failed to see the role of Huang Xin in officialdom.

Cao Jie saw it clearly, but he didn't need to analyze it in detail. He pointed at Qingzhou City on the map and said:
"This man has a master named Qin Ming, who is the commander of the Qingzhou Command. He is the commander of the troops in the state and a capable general of the prefect.

Wu Song, if we want to govern Qingzhou, we must not only conquer the three mountains, but also not ignore the heroes of the government."

"Qin Ming the Thunderbolt? I've heard of him. He's a martial arts expert and a great hero in Qingzhou." Jiao Ting has traveled all over the country for half his life, so he has some experience.

"What's your plan, brother?"

"We should not be too hasty in managing Qingzhou. We should take it step by step. First, we must help Brother Zhishen take over a mountain to serve as our Liangshan base in Qingzhou."

"Take over Peach Blossom Mountain?"

Among the three mountains, Taohua Mountain is the weakest, and its leader has a ties with Lu Zhishen, so it is easiest to take over this mountain.

Cao Jie shook his head and pointed his finger at Erlong Mountain: "Erlong Mountain is easy to defend but difficult to attack. It has natural defenses and is the most suitable place for Liangshan to establish a branch. Moreover, there is a Baozhu Temple on Erlong Mountain. I think it is destined for Zhishen."

"Brother, you are right!"

"Secondly, that 'Thunderbolt' Qin Ming comes from a family of military officers, wields a mace, and is as brave as ten thousand men. Qingzhou does not allow such a powerful person to exist!
We must also clip the wings of Governor Murong and clear a path for Wu Erlang to ascend."

"Kill him!" Ruan Xiaoqi grinned, revealing two rows of snow-white teeth.

Cao Jie smiled innocently: "Seventh Brother, wouldn't it be better to lure him up the mountain and use him for my own purposes?"

"Brother loves his martial arts. It is Qin Ming's blessing to be favored by brother!"

"But he is a commander-in-chief and is highly valued by the prefect Murong. It is not easy to trick him into becoming a bandit. Does my brother have any good ideas?"

Cao Jie smiled mysteriously: "No matter who he is, he always has weaknesses. If you want to earn Qin Ming's favor, you can start with his family. Shi Qian!"

Shi Qian has always been a nobody. He knew that he had a humble status and always did things silently.

When he heard Cao Jie calling his name, he immediately clasped his fists and said, "Brother, Shi Qian obeys your orders!"

"I want you to find out more about Qin Ming's family. If necessary, capture all of his family members and bring them up the mountain, but don't kill them."

"Shi Qian has received the order!"

"Wu Song!"

Wu Song clasped his fists and said, "Wu Song, I obey your orders!"

"You must quickly take control of the soldiers in Qingfeng Village and find out the real situation of Qingfeng Mountain. When the time comes, destroy Qingfeng Mountain as a merit for your promotion. Once Brother Zhishen occupies Erlong Mountain, we can keep the enemy at bay and take over both the black and white worlds!"

"Yes!"

"Ruan Xiaoqi, Cao Zheng, Jiao Ting!"

"exist!"

"As the saying goes, the right time, right place, and right people. The people around Qingfeng Village are unstable. I want you to find out the relationship between the surrounding gentry, win over some and suppress others. There can only be one voice around Qingfeng Village..."

(End of this chapter)