"Congratulations, Ming Gong, for defeating the enemy!" At daybreak, Bing Yuan and the other civil officials rushed to the prefect's office early. Although they had participated in the planning, the situation during the execution process was ever-changing. Zhang Bai's cavalry was also a veteran soldier. It was easier said than done to defeat them!
Once they learned of our victory last night, Bing Yuan and the others couldn't help but come forward to congratulate us. The prefect's manor was filled with people. Although Taishi Ci, Wu Anguo, Xu Sheng, Zhao Qing, Gao Qi, Jiang Guang, and the other generals had fought hard for half a night, the joy of victory had completely washed away their fatigue.
"After this battle, our North Sea can be said to be impregnable! Ming Gong had been planning for days, and the soldiers had been fighting hard for days, finally obtaining today's impressive result! Liu Xiu on behalf of Beihai scholars and people to congratulate Ming Gong, and asked Ming Gong to preside over the Beihai victory celebration meeting, in order to comfort the scholars and people, once again strengthen the military prestige!”Wang Xiu said.
Presenting prisoners, celebrating victory, rewarding, and reporting good news to the court were all necessary tasks. Bing Yuan and the others were familiar with these tasks, so they would naturally handle them appropriately. And what I have to deal with now is the nearly 60,000 Yellow Turban captives that were captured last night.
In the battle last night, our army lost over a thousand men, most of them from Taishi Ci's troops. Among the 500 men who followed Taishi Ci, less than 100 survived. They were the most heavily injured in the battle last night, and the strength of Zhang Bai's Cavalry Guards could be seen from this.
If Taishi Ci hadn't taken advantage of the situation to burn down the camp and disrupt the morale of the soldiers, Taishi Ci's 3,000 men would have been buried in the camp of Zhang Baiqi." Zhang Baiqi's troops also suffered over 7,000 casualties. Half of them were trampled to death, and the rest were killed by Taishi Ci's troops. More than 3,000 of them escaped with Zhang Baiqi and the others, while another 10,000 escaped on their own. I captured nearly 57,000 Yellow Turban soldiers.
They seized tens of thousands of Yellow Turban baggage vehicles, more than a thousand horses, thousands of pounds of gold and silver, millions of money, countless jewelry and property. Zhang Baiqi plundered and plundered for many years and accumulated a few collections of these. The property seized was rich and abundant. Unfortunately, after Zhang Baiqi's camp was burned to the ground, half of the rations were destroyed in the flames of war. Zhang Baiqi's troops did not have much rations to begin with, and they had only brought 400,000 dans of rations that could last them two months. Now, they had collected less than 200,000 dans of rations, and the original rations in the city were only 200,000 dans, totaling about 400,000 dans.
After capturing most of Zhang Bai's cavalry, Beihai City now had nearly 80,000 soldiers (Beihai City originally had 13,000 soldiers, with more than 1,000 casualties, captured 12,000 vanguard of Zhang Bai's cavalry, and captured 57,000 of Zhang Bai's cavalry camp, totaling 81,000 people). If they were to calculate according to the normal monthly consumption of 1.5 dans per person, the monthly food consumption would be close to 120,000 dans. The food reserves could only support the army for more than three months, and the next grain collection would be in May at the earliest. There was a gap of more than 300,000 dans in between. Moreover, the number of farmers under Beihai's control was only about 70,000 households. In normal years, households would receive 15 stones of land rent, and the newly collected grain was only about 1 million stones. It was not enough for the usual consumption of 1.4 million stones of grain in the coming year. Moreover, the food consumption of soldiers during wartime was almost twice that of normal times (the food transportation during wartime was very expensive).
With this calculation, there would soon be a shortage of food. Considering that if I still had to recruit refugees and attack Guanhai in the north, the food problem became a headache for me. As long as this problem was not solved, I would not dare to attack the Yellow Turban of Guanhai Tribe. However, the news of our victory quickly spread throughout Beihai and Qingzhou, and our prestige even reached as far as Xu, Yan, Hebei, and other prefectures. The Beihai Army became a powerful force that could not be ignored. The two victories brought me great fame.
According to my selection criteria, more than 30,000 of the newly captured Yellow Turban soldiers were selected to join the army. In this way, my team increased from the original 15,000 to 45,000 people. This time, I did not use the iron-blooded method of reorganization last time. Instead, I organized the more than 2,000 fierce people who were exposed through the selection into four divisions and a single battalion under Xu Sheng, who was the strictest in the army. These Yellow Turban soldiers killed countless people and were incomparably cruel. They were exactly the hard characters to be used as the death squads to charge into the front lines.
After they heard about the bloody past of our army's last reorganization, these Yellow Turban soldiers all exclaimed in their hearts that they were lucky to be able to escape death and be incorporated into the army. It was really their ancestors 'virtue. Later on, they were actually the best in our army in terms of obeying military discipline. Later on, they followed Xu Sheng to the south and fought north. Every battle, they would be the first to win, and they would win when they attacked. They made great contributions and later became a major force of our army.
Whenever there were casualties, Xu Sheng would recruit the strongest soldiers into the camp, turning the camp from an atonement camp into a meritorious camp that everyone yearned for. Moreover, it was the only camp in our army that only had four divisions.
The consequences of this unintentional action are something I can't predict. The Yellow Turban soldiers who were not selected, together with the original city defense army and supply soldiers, totaled more than 35,000. I re-selected and reorganized them. I selected more than 10,000 people who looked capable between the ages of 20 to 35 to form the new 4th Battalion supply team.
Although the remaining people were not good at fighting, they could still be considered laborers. They were organized into 10 battalions of wasteland troops led by Sun Shao. They began to open up wasteland in the counties near Beihai. They cultivated during farming, trained during leisure, and were responsible for city defense and transportation during wartime.
Thus, the Beihai Army was organized into 18 battalions, with 17 infantry battalions (one of which had four divisions and 2,000 men). Taishi Ci, Xu Sheng, Zhao Qing, and Gao Qi each led four battalions of infantry. The 4th Battalion was temporarily led by Zong Bao, the 1st Battalion was led by Jiang Guang, and Wu Anguo was still the highest-ranking commander of the Beihai Army.
"After the reorganization, the problem that gave me a headache was the problem of weapons. Originally, one in ten of the Yellow Turban soldiers in Zhang Bai's cavalry had weapons that were comparable to our soldiers. Only those who were more than ten years old could have a decent weapon. The rest of the Yellow Turban soldiers had weapons ranging from hatchets to many strange weapons modified from farm tools. This was also a major reason why the average Yellow Turban's combat strength was far from our army. After I reorganized and cleared all the weapons in the North Sea, only 30,000 soldiers were fully equipped. The remaining 15,000 regular soldiers and more than 10,000 baggage soldiers were still all kinds of weapons obtained from the original Yellow Turbans.
At the prefect's manor. "Ming Gong! The order to seek talents had already been issued and spread throughout the village. It was believed that in less than a month, the entire Qingzhou would know that the various wise men that Ming Gong had mentioned had already sent messengers to look for and invite them.”Wang Xiu replied. During the reorganization, I wrote down the names of all the celebrities and generals in Qingzhou, Yanzhou, Jizhou, and Xuzhou that I could remember. I ordered Wang Xiu to send people to look for them and invite them. In addition, I copied the story of Cao Cao and Sun Quan seeking talents and issued an order to seek talents.
"The documents, gifts, and prisoners of war to report the victory to the Imperial Court have been prepared. We will depart in a few days.”Peng Tian replied, this was his job, and he was already prepared without my instructions.
However, I know that this is far from enough. With the current Dong Zhuo's hatred for me, if there is no other reason, not only will I not be rewarded for these consecutive victories, but Dong Zhuo might even transfer me elsewhere and destroy my foundation. Thus, I need a confidant to go to the capital and act in secret.
"This matter is not something that can be put on the table. It is suitable for my butler Kong Heng to do. Although Kong Heng is not a competent diplomatic talent, I can only send him to deal with the various big shots of the imperial court. Because the North Sea is really lacking suitable candidates, I can only personally give Kong Heng some tips. I told him to bribe Dong Zhuo's trusted aides, such as Li Ru, and ask them to speak ingeniously. Only then can he obtain the title of nobility that I want." Especially to obtain the key positions of Qingzhou Provincial Governor, Qingzhou Shepherd, and East Conquest General. I also gave him a list of famous and brave generals from my memory. If I happen to meet them by chance, I will recruit them. I will not let go of any opportunity to recruit talents. It's a pity that I can't go out and look for them myself.
"The land has been selected and distributed. It is all ownerless land in the counties near the North Sea. There are more than 500,000 mu of land. The army is building houses. If the farming was done properly and the weather was good, they could harvest more than 800,000 dan of grain next summer.”Sun Shao also reported the progress of the wasteland. Sun Shao was indeed a great talent in governance. No wonder he could hold the high position of Prime Minister in the original time and space. In a few days, tens of thousands of people and hundreds of thousands of acres of land were settled in an orderly manner.
"Changxu, you've worked hard. He also told the soldiers of the camps that they would collect grain next year. Only one stone of grain per mu was collected, and those who collected more kept it.”Having lived for thousands of years, I naturally knew the bad habits of humans. Although the army was restricted by military law, if there was no benefit to stimulate them, the soldiers would not work hard and would not gain much. Although it was not a problem to produce one and a half stone of grain per mu in a normal year according to the current grain production, it would be difficult to guarantee the enthusiasm of the soldiers if they took away all of it.
"Wise Duke!" Sun Shao was also a person who was well-versed in cultivation. Naturally, he knew that this way, without any supervision, the army would work hard to cultivate. If there were no natural disasters, the army's grain per mu would not have to worry about a stone. The soldiers who cultivated would also have a surplus of half a stone per mu. 20 mu would be more than 10 stones.
The abundant food production would also play a strong role in promoting the prosperity of the North Sea. After all, in ancient times, food was the root of all industries. "In addition, we need to think of a way to fight for the salt pans in Qingzhou.”Qingzhou was a famous salt-producing base in the Eastern Han Dynasty. Salt was originally monopolized by the imperial court. However, after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, the sea was in turmoil. The salt fields in Qingzhou had been occupied by several powerful people. The imperial court's prestige was not high and gradually became the property of local powerful people. The part near the north was even more entangled with the Guanhai tribe. A large amount of salt profits every year flowed into the Guanhai tribe's Yellow Turban. Otherwise, with the 100,000 Yellow Turban who did not farm, besides looting food, If they didn't have a large amount of money to support them in buying food, how could they survive?
Therefore, the southern salt pans were still fine. At least, there was no military group behind them that could compete with the North Sea. However, the northern salt pans had to deal with the Guanhai Division! Sun Shao was also well aware of the current situation and couldn't help but sigh.
"Ming Gong, other than worrying about the army's rations, the most urgent matter is that we lack more than ten thousand soldiers and weapons! Although Linzi of Qi State near Beihai produces weapons, without the imperial court's order, I'm afraid the Prime Minister of Qi State will not give them to us.”Wang Xiu reported. As the chief registrar of the North Sea, everyone else was in high spirits after consecutive victories. Only he, who was in charge of food and equipment, had the biggest headache. I was also worried and couldn't come up with a good plan. Perhaps after the imperial court rewarded me, I would have a greater say in Qingzhou, but today, I didn't have much influence on the Prime Minister of Qi. However, the situation was pressing and I couldn't wait that long.
"Ming Gong, if you want to solve the problem of weapons, you can think of a plan that can be solved without waiting for the imperial court's order! However, it seemed inappropriate to use this plan on the imperial court's army.”"Genju, why don't you explain it in detail?”I told Bing Yuan. "Yes, sir! If someone instigates the Yellow Turban troops of Xu He, who are entrenched near Jinan, to attack Linzi, the Prime Minister of Qi will certainly ask for help from you, and you will use the situation to deal with them. I think the Prime Minister of Qi will be willing to give up these weapons.”My eyes lit up, but then dimmed,"It's easier said than done to persuade Xu He to attack Linzi City."”I said. "If it was before we defeated Zhang Bai's cavalry, it might have been very difficult, but now it's easy. However, if he did so, it would be against the path of a saint.”Bing Yuan said calmly. He then slowly explained the plan. It was undeniable that Bing Yuan's plan had a high chance of success. However, as a disciple of a Sage, it would be against my righteousness to do so. If the matter was exposed, it would also be a great blow to my reputation in the scholarly community.
Hearing Bing Yuan's plan, everyone remained silent. However, the eyes of the generals sparkled with a glimmer of light. In their hearts, they only wanted to achieve their goals, and they didn't care about the political consequences of this plan. As for Sun Shao and Wang Xiuzhi, they were famous scholars in the literati, but they valued their reputation in the literati as much as their lives.
If it was Kong Rong himself in the original space-time, he would not have done this even if he was willing to die. However, today, it was me who had crossed thousands of years. In this difficult time, if I had a choice, I would not have done this. I would not have done this just to not lose the heart of this famous person beside me.
Bing, Sun, Wang, and Peng were all rare talents in governing the country. For me, who was aiming for the long term, I couldn't lack talents in governing the country. The war was only the first step. There were many more important things to do behind the war. In the past, the key to Liu Bang's ability to rule the world was not famous generals like Han Xin and Ying Bu, but Zhang Liang and Xiao He.
Looking at the first half of Liu Bei's life in the original time and space, one would know how important it was to have a far-sighted and strategic strategist. When Liu Bei was transferred to Xuzhou, he had elites, wealth, and fierce generals. His strength could not be said to be weak. Compared to Cao Cao, who was surrounded by enemies at that time, he was better than Cao Cao in terms of the quality of his soldiers, the abundance of food and grass, the ferocity of his generals, the number of allies, and the strength of his strategic situation.
However, there were no strategists like Xun Yu and Guo Jia around him to mediate the relationship between the major families in the state in time and stabilize the overall situation in the state. Chen Gui, Chen Deng, and his son were put in an important position. After several battles, they collapsed and fled alone like stray dogs!
Although I am not as pedantic as Kong Rong in the original space-time, I still have the responsibility of protecting the reputation of the scholarly community. I thought about it for a long time, but I couldn't think of any other good plan. God, why is the world always so difficult for me? There's nothing like what I've seen in other yy authors 'books. The pig's feet stomped their feet, and the scholars and generals from all over the world came to me like rain. In a blink of an eye, I could build an invincible army with sufficient troops and food. In the blink of an eye, I could pull up hundreds of thousands of troops and sing songs of victory along the way.
"This is an urgent matter, and if the world speaks ill of me, I can't use the lives of tens of thousands of soldiers and the safety of hundreds of thousands of people in the North Sea to exchange for my reputation.”Bing Yuan, Sun Shao, and the others couldn't think of any other good ideas in a short time, so my decision didn't cause them to dislike me.
Looking around the North Sea, there were still 100,000 Yellow Turban troops from the Guanhai tribe in the north, 300,000 Yellow Turban troops from Sun Guanzang's overlord tribe in Mount Tai and Donghai, and more than 30,000 Yellow Turban troops from Jinan's Xuhe tribe. In addition, there were more than 10 Yellow Turban troops in Qingzhou that numbered from thousands to tens of thousands. From a strategic point of view, the North Sea was still in an extremely unfavorable situation of being surrounded by the Yellow Turban.
If the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans could work together, as long as Guan Hai's troops and Sun Guan's Tibetan Tyrant's troops attacked from the north and south, using human wave tactics to coordinate with the Tibetan Tyrant's resourcefulness and Guan Hai's military strength, it would not be difficult to take down the North Sea even if tens of thousands of Yellow Turbans elite troops were sacrificed.
Judging from the process of the previous consecutive victories, there was no lack of danger in the middle: If Zhao Qing had not set up a few chess pieces in the battle of Jilong Mountain, he would have been seen through. They were even more fortunate during the battle of breaking the camp in the North Sea. Taishi Ci was able to rescue them at night and coincidentally annihilated Guan Hai's messenger to obtain the secret. Bing Yuan was able to use the situation to scheme and cheat. Taishi Ci's divine archery to win the trust of Zhang Baiqi and the brave breaking of the camp were all like dramas that were rarely seen in history. Although the destruction of Zhang Baiqi's troops shocked the Yellow Turban tribes in Qingzhou, it also made them more cautious. Therefore, these tens of thousands of soldiers who used miscellaneous weapons were armed with regular standards in a short period of time. They trained diligently and formed an army as soon as possible. The safety of the North Sea would be more assured.
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