Jizhou, Julu County, Litao County.

On the city wall, many soldiers were sitting on the ground to rest, while others were coming and going in a hurry.

Folks were constantly carrying stones and wooden blocks from bottom to top to replenish the "heavy weapons" that had been consumed to defend the city, and the bows and arrows had long been used up.

Dong Zhao held a sword in one hand and clasped it on his belt with the other, and walked along the city wall with wind. If he met a seriously injured soldier, he would stop to express condolences and order someone to carry him down.

He looked at the retreating Montenegrin army and said to his subordinates: "Immediately send out sentries to follow them to see if the Montenegrin army has really retreated."

Dong Zhao breathed a sigh of relief and Zhang Niujiao finally retreated.

Zhang Niujiao besieged the city for several days. Although he failed to capture the city, the two thousand defenders of Litao were nearly all injured and exhausted. Almost all the brave men in the city had been drafted.

Guo Dian, the prefect, was asked to take away all the foreign troops. If Dong Zhao hadn't gathered the troops from several counties in time, Litao would have destroyed the city.

"Is there any reply to the letter asking for help?" Dong Zhao asked.

"Yes, Jushou, the governor of Changshan, wrote back and said that he would send troops to support him, but the details such as who would be sent to lead the army and how many troops would be sent were not specified."

"This is a military plane, how can I write it in my heart? If it is obtained by the Black Mountain bandits, wouldn't it be a big mistake!" After Dong Zhao explained, he looked into the distance and sighed: "Jugong and Sheng Sheng are righteous, and they are worthy of being appointed as prefects!

"

"County Magistrate, could Zhang Niujiao's retreat have anything to do with it?"

"It must be so! It must be because of the arrival of Changshan's army that Zhang Niujiao led his troops to retreat to the east. Lord Jufu defeated Zhang Bao's tens of thousands of elite soldiers. And about Zhang Bao, don't forget, Lord Guofu and General Dong

, nothing could be done, and General Dong was defeated." Dong Zhao said with a slight regret, after all, Dong Zhuo's surname was Dong, and he was also surnamed Dong. Although they came from different places, they still had the same surname.

Dong Zhao continued: "The one who can make Zhang Niujiao retreat to the east so decisively must be Changshan Captain Zhao Zilong leading his troops!"

The subordinate officials had obviously heard of Changshan Zhao Zilong's reputation and nodded in agreement.

"Litao did not lose, I owe Mr. Jufu a favor! Fortunately, Litao kept it!"

Dong Zhao looked at the resting soldiers and the busy men, "Not bad!"

“All good!”

…

"Hahaha, not bad!"

To the east of Litao, Zhang Niujiao laughed after hearing the information, "Hunjun actually dares to come to Jizhou at this time. Even if I, Zhang Niujiao, die, I will need to stroke a few of his emperor's hairs off!"

"Boss! You must not underestimate the enemy. The emperor still has tens of thousands of Xiyuan troops and thousands of royal guards. It is said that he is also led by Ding Yuan, the former governor of Bingzhou. This man has been fighting Xianbei all year round." Zhang Niujiao was beside him.

One person advised.

This man pretended to be a scribe, but his clothes were made of ordinary homespun cloth. Because he could read and speak a few serious words, Zhang Niujiao was recruited as a military adviser and helped Zhang Niujiao make plans along the way.

It was his idea to avoid Sili and attack Jizhou.

It was also his idea to skip the powerful Wei County and attack Julu County, which was most severely poisoned by the Yellow Turbans.

Along the way, there were no disadvantages, so Zhang Niujiao obeyed his advice. It was not until he failed to attack Litao that he suffered his first setback.

Zhang Niujiao attacked Litao for many days, but unfortunately he failed to break the city. At this time, Zhang Niujiao suddenly received a shocking news——

The Emperor of the Han Dynasty, His Majesty the Emperor, Liu Hong came to Jizhou!

Zhang Niujiao didn't believe it at first, but the news became more mysterious and more real as it spread, and finally the time and place became clear.

Zhang Niujiao was immediately angry. As the leader of the Black Mountain Army, he inherited the mantle of the Yellow Turban. Unexpectedly, instead of going to Luoyang, Liu Qing's emperor came to Jizhou instead.

Isn't this a proper slap in the face? Zhang Niujiao and his military advisor thought about it again and again, and decided to lead their troops eastward to wait for an opportunity to attack the emperor. If they could capture Zhang Niujiao, his achievements would be no less than that of General Zhang Jiao.

If this move is successful, it will definitely trigger a response from the world.

"Military advisor, if this move can be successful, what should be the next step?" Zhang Niujiao asked.

"Boss, Liu Hong naturally has many eunuchs around him. If you, boss, kill all the eunuchs first and then tell the world, you will definitely win the hearts of the people. Don't you hear: The world has suffered from eunuchs for a long time!" said the military commander.

Zhang Niujiao nodded thoughtfully, convinced that he liked people who had read books and could always say very reasonable things.

Zhang Niujiao led the army all the way east, and after walking for several days, they arrived at Tangyang County, north of Jiangshui. Zhang Niujiao did not approach the surrounding county town, but just went around it. This place was already within the territory of Anping Kingdom, not far from Lecheng County, where Liu Hong was located.

, the journey is only within ten days.

According to the military advisor's plan, Zhang Niujiao sent spies to intercept and kill Liu Hong in Anping Kingdom when he returned to Luoyang.

Zhang Niujiao originally had 50,000 troops. Although he lost thousands in the Battle of Litao, there are still many refugees and bandits in Jizhou. They always want to join forces. When encountering a large army like Zhang Niujiao, most of them will choose to join.

This has also allowed Zhang Niujiao's team to continue to grow, and now the number has exceeded 60,000, approaching 70,000.

This also gave Zhang Niujiao a little more confidence in this battle. Otherwise, Zhang Niujiao would not dare to fight against the Xiyuan Army of tens of thousands with only over 40,000 troops.

…

On the mountain road from Changshan to Yanmen, Liu Qing and his party had entered Taiyuan County.

This trip is not to Taiyuan County, but just passing through.

Xun Yu and Dian Wei walked on either side of Liu Qing, one on the left and the other on the right. Along the way, Liu Qing happened to have many questions to ask Xun Yu.

For example, what are the famous families in Taiyuan County?

For example, did he correspond with Xi Zhicai?

For example, are there any nobles in Yingchuan who are willing to join him?

Speaking of these, this is Xun Yu's strong point. Guo Jia is hard to catch up with. He even knows the outstanding talents in each company.

For example, the Wang family in Taiyuan, in addition to Wang Yun, who is well known to the world, there is also the younger generation Wang Ling and Wang Yanyun, who are also famous. It is only a matter of time for talented people to become officials, and they are also uncle-nephew relations with Wang Yun.

Another example is the Guo family in Taiyuan. Guo Jian has now mostly recovered from his illness, and he has petitioned the imperial court to resume his duties.

Speaking of this, Liu Qing also asked: "If he is reinstated, where should I go?"

Of course, this is just a joke. It is impossible for Guo Jian to be appointed the governor of Yanmen again. Even if Liu Qing is willing to give up, Guo Jian will not accept it, because Guo Jian still owes Liu Qing half his life.

When Liu Qing first came to Yanmen, he offered medicine to Guo Jian.

"My lord, Guo Mian is quite talented, and the Guo family is quite powerful in Taiyuan County. If my lord has intentions towards Taiyuan County, the Taiyuan Wang family will be the biggest resistance, and the Guo family can become the target of winning over." While in Taiyuan, Xun Yu suddenly

The incident in Taiyuan came up.

Judging from his tone, it was obvious that he already had the intention to expand. During the few days in Changshan, he had many exchanges with Guo Jia and Jushou Tian Feng, and it was Guo Jia who was the first to make arrangements.

They also knew that as the lord's military advisor, Guo Jia's thoughts were basically Liu Qing's thoughts.

It's just that for the sake of face, the Lord is inconvenient to say some things and do some things. For example, this time it's about Jizhou.

Regarding the general trend of the world, Guo Jia and Xun Yu knew better than anyone else, and Ju Shou Tian Feng was not a confused person either.

The establishment of animal husbandry is a foregone conclusion, and the separatist rule will not be long!

As for Bingzhou, Dong Zhuo has become the pastor of Bingzhou and is the nominal chief, while Liu Qing already owns the two counties of Bingzhou, and Yunzhong County and Dingxiang County can be easily included in his pocket. Most of Xihe County, because Zhang He occupies Li.

Most of the stones are in the hands. Looking at it this way, the layout of the northern part of Bingzhou has almost been completed.

How can we give it up to Dong Zhuo?

Liu Qing thought for a while and replied: "I am kind to Dong Zhuo, but I don't know how he will treat me."

Regarding Dong Zhuo's attitude, Liu Qing still had to raise a question mark in his mind. It depends on how far Dong Zhuo's ambition has grown.

"After returning to Yanmen, I planned to capture Yunzhong County and Dingxiang County. Fengxiao has left me a plan. My lord can make some preparations and then go to Taiyuan County. First visit the Guo family to win their support, and then visit

There is no need to go to Dong Zhuo, then the Wang family, and the other families one by one. These families all follow the two clans."

"I'm in Taiyuan now, why don't I go directly to Guo? Yangqu is only a few dozen miles away."

"Ho ho~" Xun Yu smiled and gave up, "The time is not yet ripe!"

"When will it be mature?"

"These families are very conservative and often seek shelter from big trees. Although my lord is well-known and holds real power, he is far away from the big tree that holds the sky," Xun Yu said.

Liu Qing understood that the big trees Xun Yu mentioned were existences like the Yuan family in Runan, the Yang family in Hongnong, and the Xun family in Yingchuan.

"When the world is in turmoil, everyone seeks refuge in the shadow of a big tree. But once the chaos begins, it is the fist that speaks. Only then can the lord be the choice of others." Xun Yu said intriguingly.

Liu Qing understood that only then could he become Guo's choice. Not everyone was like Guo Jiaxunyu and could catch potential stocks.

The timing Xun Yu mentioned was exactly what happened in Jizhou. The attack on Liu Hong would definitely shock the whole world. Many forces that were ready to take action would definitely take action. Those who took risks would no longer be patient.

"When Liu Hong is attacked, there will be violent storms in Luoyang. The major forces have no time to take care of the various places, merge the borders of the state, and cannot enter the eyes of the court. At this time, it is the time for the lord to swallow Yunzhong Dingxiang and test the major clans in Taiyuan.

Opportunity."

Liu Qing nodded, feeling that it was very reasonable. Guo Jia and Xun Yu's plans were really impeccable.

"If the progress in the north goes well, even if the lord and Dong Zhuo are at odds, it will not be in vain. Dong Zhuo will take office empty-handed, but he will not be able to defeat the lord." Xun Yu added.

"I don't want to see this happen. I'm trying to harden Dong Zhuo, but I don't know how to kill myself." Liu Qing said casually.

Xun Yu's eyelids suddenly twitched. His lord seemed to have accidentally let it slip. Xun Yu knew about his restraint in cultivating Dong Zhuo, but he never understood. Today his lord said, "He is not here to kill me." The implication is that

It is used to kill others.

Who this “other” is is intriguing.

Xun Yu couldn't help but fall into deep thought.
To be continued...