roccoschili Chapter 362: Beat the drums and fight along the Yangtze River.
Chapter 362: Beat the drums and fight along the Yangtze River.
The messenger couldn't help but smile: "My king, it is indeed General Cherry!"
Ye Kun suppressed his laughter and said, "Please invite General Cherry into the account."
A moment later, General Cherry, accompanied by four female guards and four of his generals, entered the central military tent.
She is indeed heroic and valiant, with a rosy complexion!
Ye Kun stood up to greet him and said with a smile, "General, you have come a long way, thank you for your hard work!"
"I pay my respects to the King of Hanzhong!" Cherry clasped her fists and saluted, then smiled and said:
"The King of Hanzhong is fighting for the Central Plains. General Huangfu Lin ordered me to lead an army of 10,000 to come to the tent to listen to the orders and serve the King of Hanzhong! I have 1,000 female soldiers, all of whom have been trained and learned battlefield first aid and nursing. In addition, there are 2,000 logistics personnel to escort food and weapons. There are a total of 7,000 combat personnel!"
"Huangfu Lin is really willing to send his wife to the front line."
Ye Kun smiled and said, "Your army of 10,000 has arrived just in time. Set up camp here and wait for the battle mission."
"I will obey your orders!"
Ye Kun smiled again and said, "I heard that General Cherry beat the drums to fight on the Yangtze River and shocked Jingxiang. It is really admirable. After this battle, I will reward you according to your merits."
"Thank you, King Hanzhong!"
Cherry giggled, clasped her hands and left.
Ye Kun ordered people to send wine, beef and other food to reward the troops brought by Cherry.
The next morning, Nanyang garrison commander Feng Shengzhi led civil and military officials, as well as representatives of gentry, out of the city to surrender, and presented land and population registers, as well as the seal of the prefect.
Ye Kun's army entered the city and took full control of the defense.
After everything was settled, Ye Kun held a banquet to celebrate Feng Shengzhi's success.
Feng Shengzhi sighed, "I betrayed Xiahou Chang, surrendered without a fight, and offered my city and land. I am already a disloyal and unrighteous person, how dare I talk about my achievements? In this life, I will never be able to face the world again!"
Ye Kun said sternly: "General Feng, you are wrong."
Feng Sheng was stunned, clasped his fists and said, "I would like to hear the advice of the King of Hanzhong."
Ye Kun said:
"Xiahou Chang has been very kind to you, and you think that you should repay him with loyalty. This is only natural and not a big mistake. But I think that officials and generals should repay their loyalty to the common people. If you ignore the common people and serve a cruel ruler, aren't you helping the tyrant?
In the past, Master Wen's loyalty to King Zhou only caused more casualties, but how could it change the situation in the world? If Master Wen had defected to King Wu, millions of people in the world would have died less.
Therefore, General Feng, thinking of the people of the world, broke off relations with Xiahou Chang, which is a great cause for the ages and deserves respect from the world."
Feng Shengzhi smiled bitterly: "Thank you, King Hanzhong, for your guidance..."
In fact, Feng Shengzhi was very dissatisfied.
You, Ye Kun, always say that you are doing this for the people of the world, but who knows whether you are telling the truth or not?
He talks a lot about justice, but his mind is only on business.
All the princes in the world are generally evil!
After a few more drinks, Ye Kun smiled and said, "After passing Nanyang, Luoyang is right in front of us. May I ask General Feng, do you have any plan to take Luoyang?"
Feng Shengzhi asked in return: "The food and fodder must be sent before the troops move. Food and fodder represent the morale of the army. I wonder how long the food and fodder in the army can sustain?"
Ye Kun spoke the truth: "My army's food and grass can only sustain for five days. So, I want to replenish food and grass from Nanyang."
Feng Shengzhi smiled bitterly: "Xiahou Chang is on guard against me, so there is not much food and grass in Nanyang. If the King of Hanzhong wants food and grass, I have a way."
Ye Kun clasped his fists and asked for advice.
Feng Shengzhi drank a glass of wine and said calmly:
"The people of Nanyang have some surplus food at home, as well as chickens, ducks, pigs, dogs, cattle and horses. The King of Hanzhong can send a large army to search door to door and replenish the military rations. If we can collect 20 days' worth of military rations, we can attack Luoyang."
Ye Kun's face changed when he heard this, and he stood up and looked at Feng Shengzhi:
"I originally raised an army for the people of the world, to fight against the unjust with justice and save the people from danger. How can I bully the people and treat them as grass? I would rather die than do what General Feng is planning! I am drunk today, so it is not appropriate to talk too much. I hope that in the future, General Feng can teach me the right way!"
After saying that, Ye Kun turned around and was about to leave.
"Hahaha……"
Feng Shengzhi suddenly laughed.
Ye Kun turned around, frowned and said nothing.
"King Hanzhong, please forgive me."
Feng Shengzhi stood up and bowed: "They say that the King of Hanzhong is devoted to the people, but I don't really believe it. I just made a joke to test you, please forgive me."
Ye Kun was stunned, then breathed a sigh of relief, shook his head and said with a smile: "General Feng, there is no need to test me. You will know who I, Ye Kun, am in the future."
Feng Shengzhi apologized again and said:
"There is still some food in Nanyang City, which can alleviate the urgent need for military food. In about twenty days, the new wheat nearby will gradually mature. So military food is not a big problem, but Luoyang City has strong defenses and is guarded by passes all around, so it is indeed not easy to capture.
The King of Hanzhong needs to think twice before he takes action to capture the Central Plains."
Ye Kun returned to his seat and said, "Xiahou Chang is using his troops in Chencang and the attack is very urgent. I am attacking Luoyang now, which is also a strategy of besieging Wei to save Zhao. I do not expect to take Luoyang in one battle."
Feng Shengzhi nodded: "The King of Hanzhong has the same idea as me. In this case, we can immediately advance our troops and use our momentum to force Xiahou Chang to withdraw his troops from Chencang."
Ye Kun nodded and asked, "If Xiahou Chang withdraws his troops from Chencang and comes to Luoyang to fight me, what should we do?"
Feng Shengzhi thought for a moment and said, "If our weapons and armor are the same as Xiahou Chang's, then the battle in the Central Plains will require at least a year's worth of food and 200,000 troops. I've heard that the King of Hanzhong is invincible with his guns and cannons, so I'll make a 50% discount, and it will still take 100,000 troops and half a year's worth of food to have a 50% chance of victory."
"Only half a hope?" Ye Kun smiled bitterly and shook his head: "I can barely gather a hundred thousand troops. But it's not easy to get half a year's food and grass."
Behind the 100,000-strong army, 200,000 logistics personnel are needed to ensure the transportation of food and fodder.
But these logistics troops also need food. Adding up, there are hundreds of thousands of people who do not produce anything and just eat food!
Ye Kun has now taken over the Jingxiang area, and he needs to invest heavily to ensure stability, so he can't afford to play around.
Feng Shengzhi smiled and said, "Then wait for Xiahou Chang to come, we will withdraw from Nanyang, retreat to Jingxiang, focus on childbirth, recover our strength, and then plan for the Central Plains."
Strategists' views are always similar.
Ye Kun discussed this with Zhuge Feng and others, and this was basically the plan.
Ye Kun clasped his fists and said, "General Feng has a clear view of the major events in the world. May I ask, General Feng, do you dare to be the vanguard and march into Luoyang?"
"Don't dare."
Feng Shengzhi declined the offer and shook his head, saying, "I am a rebel general from Luoyang and I have no face to face my former colleagues. In front of the two armies, those former colleagues will scold me to death."
"General Feng is an honest man."
Ye Kun laughed and issued an order: "Ma Botao and Zhou Xuanwu, each with 15,000 troops, will advance towards Luoyang in two routes and set out tomorrow afternoon! General Yingtao will be in charge of transporting food and grass. Feng Shengzhi's troops will remain stationed in Nanyang to collect food and grass as backup!"
Feng Shengzhi clasped his fists and accepted the order, and then took the initiative to suggest that his two sons each lead 3,000 elite soldiers to follow Ye Kun into the battle.
This is a show of loyalty to dispel Ye Kun's doubts.
The next day, the vanguard troops set out.
The next day, Ye Kun led the central army to set off.
Before leaving, Ye Kun told Feng Shengzhi:
"If our army attacks Luoyang, Xiahou Chang will definitely lead troops to rescue it. At that time, we will abandon Nanyang and retreat to Jingxiang. However, I want to take all the people of Nanyang with me. Please make preparations early, General Feng."
There are hundreds of thousands of people near Nanyang.
Taking the people away would also weaken Xiahou Chang's power.
Feng Shengzhi was surprised when he heard this: "My Lord, the migration of hundreds of thousands of people is no small matter. After all, it is hard to leave one's hometown. Who would be willing to leave? If there is no large amount of money to resettle the immigrants, a large number of them will inevitably starve to death!"