Xiaoqi

"My lord, don't talk about it, the last general will take orders!" Before Li Li could finish speaking, Ma Chao interrupted urgently with his face flushed.

Suddenly, everyone in the hall burst into laughter: "Hahaha!"

Dividing line

There was indeed a fierce battle at Jiameng Pass, which started almost at the same time as Li Lili's Ministry of Nanzheng City.

When Yangping Pass fell, Zhao Wei, Wu Yi, Leng Bao, Deng Xian and others led more than 1 Yizhou soldiers and fled to Jiameng Pass in a hurry.When they reached the front of the pass, the guards closed the city gate without any extra questioning, and let them pass.Unexpectedly, Zhao Wei and Wu Yi saw that the defenses in the pass were lax, and worried that they and the others would be defeated and would not be able to explain to Liu Zhang.If they succeed in one fell swoop, it will be worthwhile for them to lose troops and defeat Hanzhong. Even if the entire army is wiped out, as long as Jiameng Pass is taken back, they will not only be innocent, but have merit, and they can confidently report victory to Liu Zhang.

At the beginning of the raid, the Yizhou Army captured the North City Gate in one fell swoop, and the progress was smooth, but then encountered stubborn resistance, because the defenders guarding the South Gate were the teaching guards led by Zhang Ju.Although there are only 3000 people in the guards, they are powerful and forcibly blocked the fierce charge of more than 1 Yizhou troops.Just as the fierce battle in the Pass was in full swing, Qu Bei, the deputy commander of the Shuofeng Battalion, came in pursuit with [-] cavalry, and flanked back and forth with the guards.Forced to do so, Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and the others had no choice but to fight and retreat, retreating to the back mountain jungle, so as to avoid the charge of Xiliang iron cavalry.

Then the frontal fight for the pass turned into a jungle chase.The Xiliang cavalry dismounted and pursued on the mountain, while Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and others fled in the jungle with thousands of soldiers, fighting and running.This jungle chase lasted a whole day and night.When Li Li and others arrived with their troops, except for Zhao Wei and Wu Yi who led hundreds of soldiers who were still fleeing, most of the enemy troops had been wiped out, and thousands of prisoners of war were escorted down the mountain one after another.

Therefore, when Li Li entered the main hall of the city guard's mansion, Qu Bei, the deputy commander of the Shuofeng Battalion, was still chasing and killing Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and other defeated generals on the mountain.

As dusk approached, Qubei finally led his troops back.

"The last general pays his respects to the lord!" At this time, there were only Li Li, Li Zhi, Zhou Yu and Fazheng in the main hall.

Li Li smiled and got up and walked down the hall.Helped him up, he said with a smile: "Bo Yi has worked hard, take a seat and rest quickly. Let's talk after taking a breath."

Qu Bei's expression was moved, his exhaustion seemed to be relieved by half immediately, and he said respectfully: "Fortunately, the last general did not disgrace his life and guarded this pass. He also captured Zhao Wei, Wu Yi and more than [-] soldiers under his tent alive an hour ago. It has been escorted back to the pass, waiting for the lord to send it!"

"Okay, okay, Boyi is doing great!" Li Li laughed heartily, patted Qubei on the shoulder, and signaled him to sit down and rest, and there will be important discussions later.

After going to Bei and taking his seat, Li Li walked up to Zhou Yu and sat cross-legged, and said with a smile, "Counting the surrendered soldiers captured by Boyi just now. This time we have captured more than [-] prisoners of war in Yizhou, and will lead the troops this time. All the generals in Yizhou were captured. None of them slipped through the net. Gong Jin thinks how should we deal with them next, whether to withdraw and reorganize or send them into exile?"

After Zhou Yu heard the words, he was not in a hurry to answer, but turned his head and looked at Fazheng, who was standing next to him, and said thoughtfully: "I will discuss this matter with Xiaozhi many times in private, and we all agree that it is not appropriate to recruit and surrender soldiers, let alone exile. , can only be imprisoned temporarily, and will be used as a district office later. At present, the soldiers of each battalion have been replenished one after another, and our army has reached more than [-] troops. In addition, since last year, our army has been fighting continuously for more than a year, and the whole army urgently needs to rest. In addition, it is now the autumn harvest season, so it is necessary to rest for a period of time, so that part of the troops can be allocated to help the people harvest food and increase Young and strong workers can kill two birds with one stone."

"Hehehe!" Li Li nodded with a smile and said, "There is something in what Gongjin said. This is an indirect remonstrance to me. It's not the best time to attack Yizhou, and we should call a truce. Am I right?"

"My lord is wise, that's exactly what we mean." Zhou Yu and Fazheng respectfully responded in unison.

Li Li shook his head slightly, and said with a smile on his face: "It's not wise, but it's not confused. It's just that I haven't been dazzled by the victory. Indeed, Hanzhong County is just a county compared to Yizhou. It is easier, but if you want to capture Yizhou in one go, it is a bit whimsical and self-righteous. Once Hanzhong is lost, Yizhou will be full of turmoil and clouds of war. Liu Zhang will definitely mobilize heavy troops to defend the various passes, and always be on guard against us entering the Shu Road. Therefore ,,, This Western Expedition ends here, after the military and political affairs of Hanzhong County are handled, the troops will return to Chang'an, and the whole army will rest, so we can stay in Chang'an safely and peacefully for this winter."

Zhou Yu, Fazheng, and Qubei were overjoyed when they heard the words, and said in unison: "My lord is wise,,, uh, hahaha!"

When Li Li heard the word "Yingming", Li Li looked stunned, his eyes swept over Zhou Yu and the three of them, and then everyone looked at each other and laughed.

While laughing, Li Li gave orders to Zhou Yu and Fazheng: "Afterwards, the Yizhou prisoners of war will be gathered together and detained in a centralized manner. Among them, the generals above the military marquis will be held in isolation and cannot meet each other. Remember, treat these prisoners of war kindly. Army officers and soldiers can also talk to them more, as long as they do not resist or run away, there is no need to be too harsh. In addition, carefully clean up the corpses of Yizhou soldiers who died in battle, use clay pots to hold the ashes, and label their names as much as possible, and attach One thousand dollars, the right to be a death benefit. Half a month later, all the prisoners of war in Yizhou captured this time were released and allowed to return to Yizhou, but all weapons, horses, and flags were confiscated, and no weapon was allowed to be taken away.”

"What, release them all? Zhao Wei, Wu Yi, Zhang Ren and others are also released?" Zhou Yu, Fazheng, and Qubei Wenyan were shocked and exclaimed anxiously.

"Yes, all of them have been released. All the more than [-] people since Zhao Wei were released, and pensions were issued to the fallen soldiers in Yizhou. Although the money is not much, it is also a heart. kindness." Li Li affirmed with a solemn expression.

"Huh?" Zhou Yu murmured in astonishment, and began to meditate as if he had realized something, and Fazheng also felt it, turning his head to look at Zhou Yu who was frowning in thought, and stopped asking further questions.

After a long while, Zhou Yu and Fazheng looked at each other and nodded, then got up and said: "My lord is far-sighted, let me worship you!"

Li Li got up with a smile, walked to the entrance of the main hall, raised his eyes and looked at the mountains and rivers in the southwest, shook his head and said, "This is not my plan. There is someone else who is really far-sighted. "Geo-shi-kun, a gentleman carries things with virtue". This is the real person with great wisdom, and his long-term vision is admirable. It was her words that inspired me. Since I can't attack by force, I will appease them. Shu Although the road is dangerous, it can't stop people's hearts. The strongest castles in the world are often breached from the inside. The words of the sages make us ashamed!"

Chapter 887 Giving roses to others, with lingering fragrance in hands

In the past five days, the counties in Hanzhong are in order.

After the successful recovery of Hanzhong County, Li Xuan, the governor of Liangzhou, immediately led more than [-] civil servants to Nanzheng County Governor's Mansion to sort out government affairs.

At this point, Hanzhong County was brought under the jurisdiction of the Governor of Liangzhou. Fazheng served as the prefect of Hanzhong, Huang Zhong served as the general of Hanzhong, and led the Qin Gong Battalion to station in Hanzhong. road.

In addition, Pei Qian was promoted to be the prefect of Wudu County, and Yang Ang was appointed as the military captain of Wudu County; Yan Pu succeeded Pei Qian as the general's mansion, following Li Li's side.

At the same time, Hanzhong County and Yongliang prefectures were governed at the same time, abolishing the original tax laws and changing them to a three-seven tax system, and strictly implementing the laws and regulations on land, tenants and retinues.However, in the family of officials and officials or the family of powerful and powerful gentry, all the retinues and maids must be registered in the register, and the family of a prince must not exceed [-] retinues, and the land and real estate will be checked, and all the land and real estate beyond the new law will be confiscated and redistributed. distribute.

After the implementation of the whole set of new laws, within ten days, all the counties in Hanzhong took on a new look. The people in the city praised and rushed to tell each other.

Therefore, the counties in Hanzhong were very busy during these ten days. The people were all smiling, and the market was extremely lively, but no one dared to cause trouble. The law and order was good and orderly.

When Li Xuan, Fazheng, Huang Zhong and others were too busy to turn their heads, Li Li and Zhou Yu were sitting in the backyard of the Sheriff's Mansion, drinking tea leisurely and talking happily.

"I heard that Meng Qi went to the military camp to look for you last night, and asked you to go to Fufeng to intercede with his father Ma Teng?" After taking a sip of tea.Li Li said with a smile.

Zhou Yu's face was a little weird after hearing the words, and he shook his head helplessly: "It is true. But, my lord knows that the general is not familiar with Ma Teng, the prefect. I can't say anything at all, but Meng Qi begged me to go and Qiying for him. The girl talked about Xiang, and persuaded his father to agree to their marriage. I said that there was nothing I could do, but Meng Qi was persistent and begged for each other. I had no choice but to agree. No, the general came here on purpose today Ask the lord for help. I implore the lord to come forward and resolve this matter."

"Ask me for help? Hehehe!" Li Li laughed dumbly and said, "This is Meng Qi's family affairs, and it is inconvenient for others to interfere. Besides, Gong Jin should know. Ma Teng is my father-in-law, and Meng Qi is my uncle Brother. It’s really not easy for me to come forward in this kind of thing, I can’t use power to suppress people, can I?”

"Huh?" Zhou Yu was stunned when he heard the sound, and said anxiously: "My lord is just joking. This matter is really up to you. No one else can solve it. In fact, I know that the reason why Meng Qi came to me for help is to let me Come to ask the lord to come forward, but he himself is too embarrassed to speak, for fear that the lord will take the opportunity to make fun of him. Besides, as far as I know, the prefect Ma Teng is very principled, and most people can't persuade him, but he is the only one who obeys the lord From. As long as the lord says a word, this matter can be easily resolved."

"Is that so?" Li Li murmured.Pretending to be helpless, he nodded slightly: "Forget it, since Gong Jin asked, I will accept this matter."

During the conversation, Li Li paused, and said with a smile: "Actually, Meng Qi is also concerned about it, but I don't see that Miss Qiying is not in a hurry at all? In fact, Meng Xin has already mentioned their relationship in the letter." Marriage, and entrust this matter to me. So, even if Meng Qi doesn't say anything, I won't stand idly by."

"Hey, that's how it is!" Zhou Yu patted his thigh and suddenly realized: "Before I wondered why Meng Qi would follow the Lord to fight with the army. After all, there is no attack mission for the Longxiang Camp in the Western Expedition. Now I finally I understand, it turned out that Meng Qi came here for Miss Qiying, so he stayed by the lord's side all the time, leaving the Longxiang camp and following the army to fight alone. From this point of view, Meng Qi really treated Miss Qiying I have a deep love, but now I want my long-cherished wish to be fulfilled, and I want to embrace the beauty! Hehehe"

Li Li nodded and said with a smile: "A hero is sad for a beautiful woman. Meng Qi is a man of temperament. He and Qiying fell in love with each other three years ago, but was stopped by his father Ma Teng, who beat the mandarin duck with a club and forcibly separated them In recent years, Meng Qi has been forced to marry two concubines, but he has never been willing to marry the main wife. In fact, he never forgets Zhang Qiying and always wants to marry her. After I learned about this, I called Meng Qi to the By being around, the meaning is to promote their good deeds, so that a pair of lovers will not worry about each other; otherwise, after a long time, the two people may become sick from worry and die in depression."

Although the last sentence was Li Li's conjecture, it came from a feeling.Historically, Ma Chao and Zhang Lu's youngest daughter fell in love with each other. Originally, Zhang Lu had agreed to their marriage, but because of Yang Song's obstruction and slander, Zhang Lu went back on his word.After that, the pair of lovers never had a chance to get together again; it is said that Zhang Qiying never married for this reason, love, hate, worry, and died in depression.Coincidentally, Ma Chao also died in his early 40s, and also died of depression.However, Ma Chao's death has been interpreted as aspirations that cannot be rewarded, the vengeance of the extermination of the clan has not been avenged for a long time, depression became ill, and he died young.

Time and space have turned, and everything has changed now.Ma Teng and his sons all served under Li Li's command, and their wives, children, and clansmen were not exterminated. Although they were no longer the power of the princes, the family was reunited and happy.Li Li couldn't be sure whether Ma Chao was unhappy because of Zhang Qiying, but based on the principle of being prepared, since this kind of thing happened to him, he would definitely not sit back and watch this tragedy happen, and he must try his best to make the couple happy.

Because, in the current chaotic situation, under the background of a society in which men are superior to women, there are very few young lovers like Ma Chao and Zhang Qiying who love each other, have affection and righteousness.Even Li Li is envious of him. Although he has many wives and concubines, there are really not many wives and concubines who have gone through the entire love journey with him from acquaintance to love to marriage, not even half of the thirteen wives and concubines.Most of the wives and concubines follow him for various reasons, not purely because of love; for example: seeking a sense of security and dependence, seeking a stable life, accidental marriages, power and wealth, and so on.However, he and his wives and concubines have established an unbreakable deep relationship after marriage, which is a typical marriage first and then love.

small dividing line

"Yesterday, Xiaozhi mentioned a person to me. He thought that he was extremely greedy and regarded money as his life, but this person was beside the lord, and was in charge of food and supplies. This made Xiaozhi very worried." Zhou Yu said softly while drinking tea. Said.

Li Li's expression changed slightly, and after a little thought, he smiled lightly and said, "Gong Jin is talking about Liang Cao working for Yang Song?"

"Exactly." Zhou Yu nodded in response, and smiled happily: "It seems that the lord has noticed it a long time ago, so Xiaozhi and I don't have to worry about it. I think the lord has already made arrangements for this."

Li Li nodded slightly, thinking about it and said: "Yang Song is extremely money-loving and greedy, I know all this. Originally, I planned to kill him when I regained Hanzhong, so as to prevent future troubles, and also to appease Zhang Lu. , Yan Pu and others, they kill two birds with one stone. But this time the battle went so smoothly, it is undeniable that Yang Song deserved the first credit, and the ability and means that this person showed for money and wealth are also amazing. He looked at him with admiration. If in a peaceful and prosperous age, this person would definitely be an out-and-out corrupt official with deep scheming and vicious methods.

However, in troubled times, anyone with a skill can use it.As long as they are used properly, such scheming people can often inspire great potential, and even amazing moves, which are amazing.This time, I will keep Yang Song by my side. Although I appointed him as the grain cao, it is actually a false job, in name only. After returning to Chang'an, I will send him to Dunhuang County to lead the business with the Western Regions, and let him work with money every day. Dealing with him, I will set a clear amount of trade revenue and expenditure for him at that time.

Currently, Dunhuang’s monthly income is 30 taels. Based on this, for every 1 taels of income per month, he will be rewarded with 100 taels. The more income, the more rewards he will get, and vice versa.At the same time, I will secretly order Fan Yong to send someone to keep an eye on him. With such a two-pronged approach, he must be able to accomplish a lot, and perhaps bring us unexpected gains.Of course, if he tries to take away the proceeds from the market, there is only a dead end waiting for him. Parents and children are in Chang'an, where can he go! "

"Uh, the lord is brilliant!" Zhou Yu looked astonished, and exclaimed, "This is really the most suitable position for Yang Song. He loves money like his life, is quick-witted and decisive, but has a lot of eyes and is good at making troubles. Put such a person in the The Western Regions market is really suitable for dealing with merchants from the countries of the Western Regions, and everyone can make the best use of their talents!"

Li Li smiled lightly, shook his head and said, "It's too early to say at this time, and the results will be seen later. Let's put this matter aside for the time being. I don't know how our soldiers get along with the Yizhou prisoners of war these few days?"

Zhou Yu laughed when he heard the words: "We get along very well, almost as one, and mix together every day, and even the daily drills are put on hold. These days, the food for the prisoners of war in Yizhou is very good, two meals a day, one meat and one vegetable, every night five A pot of wine is almost as good as the food and treatment of our generals. They will leave in a few days, otherwise it will take a long time, and I am really worried that they will be reluctant to leave and do not want to return to Yizhou to reunite with their families."

Speaking of this, Zhou Yu paused, and said respectfully: "However, the performance of the Yizhou generals is not very good. They are all held in solitary confinement. No one talks to them. They stay in the cell all day, and they are so anxious that they are spinning around. Especially Zhao Wei, Wu Yi, and Zhang Ren, who were captured alive by Han Sheng earlier, were very angry. Fortunately, no one paid attention to them. No matter whether they were looking for death or swearing, the soldiers guarding the cell did not answer, which made them suffocate. Going crazy."

"Well, good, what we want is the effect." Li Li nodded in response, and said with a smile: "Starting from tonight, you and I will work separately and host a banquet for a Yizhou general every half day. We must make them feel at home. It’s as if I’ve come out of hell. Zhao Wei, Wu Yi, and Zhang Ren will be hosted by me personally, and I’ll have a good talk with them. It’s best to turn enemies into friends. Giving roses to others will leave a fragrance in your hands, and your hearts will be touched They are fleshy, and there has never been a hard-hearted person in the world. After the reception, I will personally go out of the city to see them off and let them return to Yizhou. At that time, it is time for me to return to Chang'an as a teacher."

Chapter 888 Chrysanthemum yellow, wounds everywhere

The autumn wind is bleak, leaves are falling, and the forest covered by clouds and sun is greeted with ruthless frost.