Chapter 848: Another Great War

It was another bleak autumn. Through various methods such as intercropping and rotation, through methods of preserving soil fertility such as plant ash and human and animal manure, through continuous investment of manpower and material resources to build water conservancy projects to ensure irrigation of cultivated land, through the continuous refinement of farming and cultivation of good seeds by agricultural doctors in the Wenchang Pavilion, and through the joint labor of the military and civilians.

And under the leadership of the wise and martial Grand General Wang, in the autumn of the first year of Chuping, Liaodong had its sixth great harvest.

It was not just Liaodong, but the harvests in Linyu, Guangning, and other newly occupied lands last year were also good. The reasons for this were multifaceted.

The above farming methods, fertilization means, water conservancy projects, and the research of specialized agricultural doctors were one reason, but a more important reason was the rare stability and peace under Grand General Wang's rule.

No one destroyed production or snatched production materials, which guaranteed the harvest of grain. Coupled with the re-measurement of fields and distribution of land, people had more land to farm. Although they were more tired, the harvest belonging to their own families was also more. So on the whole, even if the soil fertility was not as good as the fertile soil of the Northeast, it was still considered a bumper harvest.

And this kind of tranquility was what many common people were looking forward to. They walked toward the territory under Wang Yan's rule with their families, or there were farmers from nearby who invited the stationed army to move forward.

This is because as time passed, news spread and diffused. The soldiers under Grand General Wang were how they cleaned up powerful clans, wealthy households, and landlords, and how they distributed land. Most importantly, the agricultural tax was only ten percent. Who doesn't want more land? Who doesn't want to keep more of the grain they grow?

Walking through the Han Dynasty, the one who was so lenient to farmers was Wang Yan here. After all, many places were ten percent tax of four, five, or six, and even ten percent tax of seven. Working hard for a year without eating a full meal, it was Grand General Wang who was the most honest.

As for the problem that ten percent tax cannot support military and political consumption, it is regulated by money. In fact, every household under his rule has a lot of land, much more than what they owned before, and everyone's workload is very large. This is the method to make up for the consumption and the lack of real estate.

So on the whole, the common people under his command are also exhausted, but this kind of tiredness is what they are willing to suffer themselves...

And whether it was refugees coming to join, or farmers nearby requesting the large army to move forward, and civil officials organizing the re-distribution of land and relocating the common people, they were all quite supportive.

The so-called land of ancestors, at this time, only those powerful clans, wealthy households, and landlords would care. Ordinary common people find it difficult to survive, and they don't know where to bury them when they die. Who else would care about other things? Heaven and earth are big, and there is nothing bigger than filling their stomachs.

Then since land is to be distributed, there must be land, and naturally, the territory expanded a lot.

Now in Guangning, the expansion is basically against Pingcheng (Datong), and in Linyu, Huang Zhong fought a small battle with the five thousand troops sent by Liu Yu, advanced two hundred *li*, pushed to Feiru (Lulong County), and occupied Xuwu (Zunhua), thereby controlling Lulong Pass (Xifengkou).

Lulong Pass is one of the nine major fortresses of the Great Wall. Originally in history, after Cao Cao defeated Yuan Shao in Guandu, he went north to attack the Wuhuan, and it was from Lulong Pass that he sent troops, finally stabilizing the north with the Battle of White Wolf Mountain.

And when Huang Zhong advanced to Linyu last year, the route that Gongsun Zan wanted to take to cross the mountains to attack Tuhe was also this route.

Now that this fortress is controlled, and there is a tiger looking at Juyong, and there is the passage of the Liaoxi Corridor, it can basically be said that the land of Youzhou is within reach.

Liu Yu is inactive, but he is not a fool, and it is impossible not to resist. Moreover, even if he does not resist, his subordinates will not resist. Because they all hold a large amount of farmland, and they know what they are like to the common people. And they know even better how the rebel Wang Yan treats powerful clans and wealthy households, and the blood of the powerful clans in Liaodong six years ago has not yet dried up.

So no matter what, they will not sit and wait for death.

After the autumn harvest, without waiting for Wang Yan to attack, they mobilized an army of one hundred thousand and took the initiative to launch an attack.

The purpose of doing this is to play the time difference and seize the opportunity. Because the troops Wang Yan has stationed in Youzhou now are only one guard in Juyong, and one guard in Feiru and Xuwu, plus the Xuanjia Battalion, the total number of troops is only over fifteen thousand.

They sent troops to attack, and the news transmitted to Tuhe needs time. Grand General Wang needs time to make decisions, and mobilizing troops needs even more time. Back and forth, it is estimated that half a month will be gone.

How much influence half a month has on a battle is self-evident. It is not impossible that they will recapture Juyong, and in one go, beat the thief Wang back to Liaodong, or even kill their way to Tuhe and kill the thief Wang.

This time, Liu Yu's army was divided into three routes, one to capture Juyong, one to attack Xuwu, and one to pass Lingzhi to attack Feiru. The leaders were all Liu Yu's confidants, Xianyu Fu, Xianyu Yin, Cheng Xu, Gongsun Ji, etc. If they were not confidants, Liu Yu would not let them mobilize troops and lead the team.

Except for Gongsun Ji, because he had the same surname as Gongsun Zan, the two were friends, and later Liu Yu mobilized troops to fight Gongsun Zan, Gongsun Ji informed and helped Gongsun Zan to be prepared. Others, after Gongsun Zan killed Liu Yu and his whole family, were all fighting Gongsun Zan, and later, many of them worked for Cao Cao and were quite trusted.

It cannot be said that they didn't think well. If everyone's combat power was not much different, one hundred thousand troops would naturally have no problem driving Wang Yan back to Liaodong. The strategy of sending troops on three routes to attack also had no problems.

But the problem is, Liu Yu's army is struggling to fight Gongsun Zan, and still wants to come to fight Wang Yan? These fifteen thousand troops are almost all veterans, and even if they are new recruits, they are also those who have undergone several years of militia training before joining the army. There is also another problem, the Battalion Commander of the two guards is Taishi Ci, and the other is Huang Zhong. There is also Zhao Yun in the Xuanjia Battalion. Although Zhao Yun has not yet come out, he is only a deputy Hundred-Man Commander now, but Zhao Yun's combat power is there. These three fierce generals, one is fiercer than the other.

And the Xuanjia Battalion is heavy cavalry. More than eight hundred people spread out their formation, and they can easily kill through thirty thousand people. With Huang Zhong, seven thousand fighting sixty thousand, it is not without combat power.

The most critical point is that Grand General Wang's system is national military...

"Report Grand General, Liu Yu mobilized one hundred thousand troops, one route to attack Juyong, two routes to attack Xuwu and Feiru. Battalion Commander Huang has long been prepared and mobilized five thousand militia to resist the enemy. The enemy army is moving slowly, and General Huang predicts that they will engage in battle three days later."

In the General's Mansion, the communication soldier reported the military situation at the front.

Wang Yan shook his head and laughed. Troops value speed, but in fact, before Liu Yu's army was formed, it had already been discovered by scouts and reported back. There were even righteous men who were inclined to his Grand General Wang who sold the information. Their movements were actually all under control.

He had long been prepared for this, such as Huang Zhong mobilizing militia, which was what he had authorized before. However, even if he had not authorized it, special situations would be handled specially, and Huang Zhong would also choose to mobilize militia.

Taishi Ci's side was the same. They could all mobilize militia to go to the battlefield in the rear. Facing the attack of the large army, they would certainly also mobilize militia to expand their troop strength.

Although compared to this, the training time of the militia in these two places is short, and they cannot be compared with the Liaodong militia. But compared to Liu Yu's army, it is not much different. Many people have not undergone military training. They were working in the fields yesterday, and they were mobilized into the military camp the next day. What combat power can they have?

The most combat-effective in Liaodong is actually Gongsun Zan's army. However, Gongsun Zan is cunning and plays tricks. He didn't even want his hometown, took all the troops under his command, and even cheated Liu Yu's ten thousand troops, running to gather with the warlords to crusade against Dong Zhuo, waiting for Wang Yan and Liu Yu to lose both sides, and he would come back to clean up the mess and take Youzhou and Liaodong.

The crusade against Dong Zhuo is still being fought, but they are currently infighting, and they should break up next spring.

After laughing, Wang Yan waved his hand and recruited a personal guard: "Mobilize three thousand troops from the Zhenwu Guard to go south to Guangning to station, wait for the troops to arrive to change the garrison, order Zhou Cang to lead the whole army to reinforce Taishi Ci, order his two guards of troops to fight out of Juyong, and advance to Changping (Beijing CP District). Order the Brave Cavalry Battalion to pay attention to the enemies from Bingzhou and guard the movements of the grasslands. Mobilize three thousand Yingwu Guards, and mobilize another three thousand militia to go south to reinforce Huang Zhong."

Synthesizing the existing resources and the situation in Liaodong, Grand General Wang thought for a moment and continued: "You pack your luggage, mobilize a hundred people to go south with me. Notify the Government of Governance, Hua Tuo, and Cai Yong to gather at the Government of Governance in half an hour, and go to pass the order."

"Yes, Grand General."

The personal guard took the order excitedly and left with the communication soldier, very excited. They hadn't fought for a long time.

Wang Yan smiled. The people under his command were all looking forward to fighting. Even if there were no too many rewards, they were willing to fight, all thinking of sending him, the Grand General, to the throne of the Emperor.

After playing with the children for a while, estimating that the time was almost up, he set off to the Government of Governance for a meeting.

The theme of the meeting was very simple: swallow Youzhou.

Because he looted, and Zhang Chun also united with the barbarians to loot, the population under Liu Yu's rule is actually not much, probably over seventy thousand. This time, mobilizing all the troops is almost a full effort. One hundred thousand troops are certainly not true, but there must be sixty or seventy thousand, which is a desperate effort.

Of course, this is mainly Wang Yan's fault. He sent a large army to station, but didn't fight. He just waited for refugees or people with land to take the initiative to join, and then the army moved forward. Now the powerful clans in Youzhou are scared and concentrated near Ji County, and only a few will move south with their families. Scaring the officials and powerful clans of Youzhou, and not giving them a way to surrender, then they will naturally resist desperately. This time, the grain and grass for the large army are estimated to be all sponsored by the powerful clans of Youzhou.

However, Wang Yan has no choice, because from the beginning, he set the tone: fight the local tyrants and divide the fields, punish the unrighteous who bully, abuse, and harm the people, and abolish slavery. And from the beginning, he executed these, which is the most fundamental political line that cannot be shaken, and it is the political foundation of his governance.

Unlike the path of rebellion in the Song and Ming Dynasties, at that time, he was only good to the people, but in the early stage, he didn't shout the slogan so loudly. So he could accept the surrender of the landlords and gentry at that time, and slowly find reasons to kill them or marginalize them in the later stage. After all, he lived a long time, so dealing with these people was like a seasoning in life. If there was nothing to do, he would catch two and kill them.

But this time, his rebellion was fundamentally different. He was a member of the Yellow Turban Army. At that time, his rebellion foundation came from the demands of the Yellow Turbans, and then he constantly tampered with the original meaning of the Yellow Turbans, which achieved today's political line based on the people.

If he accepts the surrender of powerful clans and officials, how can he face the common people of Youzhou? Transmitted to Liaodong, how can he face the common people of Liaodong, and how can he face the army that was established because of this political line, which protects the home and the country, and even if they won the battle and made great contributions, they only had some General's money as a reward.

So now he has kidnapped himself, but it doesn't matter. After all, the results are the same. It's just that it's difficult first and easy later, and the other path is easy first and difficult later. After all, now it is a new creation after breaking, while the latter inherits the existing one and will have to spend energy to expel the maggots in the bones in the future.

This led to the plan that was originally intended to slowly Youzhou, because of the resistance of the officials and powerful clans under Liu Yu, it became a scene of life and death in one battle.

It also led to Wang Yan having to take over the whole of Liaodong in advance. After all, he had already defeated the military power of Youzhou. If he still let them go, it would be too unreasonable.

So this meeting of the Government of Governance was to count the family's assets, grain, salt and iron, farm tools, seeds, etc., and whether the grassroots civil officials were enough. Moreover, there would be casualties in fighting, and Hua Tuo had to send medical practitioners behind the army to treat them on the battlefield, and even more, to do a good job in the pension work for the soldiers who died in battle, and so on.

Fighting a war is definitely not saying fight and fight, just take the troops and do it. War materials must be considered, and post-war processing must be considered even more. After all, he cannot fail, so he must be prepared to take over Youzhou in an all-round way.

The meeting lasted a long time, from noon until night, until all aspects were planned and prepared, and then the meeting was adjourned. In addition to counting resources and arranging to take over Youzhou, there was also one point, which was to move the General's Mansion forward.

After all, he was going to fight south, and most importantly, their troops were not enough. The territory was large, and there were many places to guard, so the military strength was too scattered. After the General's Mansion moved to Ji County (Beijing), it would be more convenient to coordinate affairs and speed up information transmission. He, the Grand General, could still stand in the front. If the enemy came too fiercely, he could fight back more fiercely and turn the tide.

It was just that his good eldest son Gongsun Zan suffered. When he returned next spring, Youzhou would definitely change hands. I don't know where he would develop, and Liu Bei, who was still mixing with Gongsun Zan, didn't know where to go...

"Is the General going to go south to command in person?"

In the back house, several women were together, and Wang Yan looked at his eldest son who was walking with difficulty, a younger son in swaddling clothes, and a young daughter. Zhen Dao asked this.

Even before the meeting was over, Liaodong had already moved. Although Zhen Dao didn't know the news, she saw the personal guard packing luggage and packing for Wang Yan, so it must be going south.

Wang Yan nodded: "Youzhou has mobilized all its troops to attack. They have many troops, and I have few. This battle cannot be lost. I should command in person, accomplish the work in one battle, and take the whole land of Youzhou. You take care of the children, do not be arrogant, and when the General's Mansion moves south to Ji County next spring, just follow."

In this era, cars are far and horses are slow, but if you want to do something, you have to count by the month. People who really have the ambition to accomplish a career, it is inevitable that they will be separated from their families in this life.

Even if they don't want to accomplish a great career, the strong men of this time have to be pulled to join the army. Even if he, Grand General Wang, treats the soldiers generously, in the past year, the three guards of Xuanwu, Guangwu, and Weiwu, and the Brave Cavalry Battalion, have not returned to Liaodong and have not seen their families. This is the norm.

Zhen Dao and other women responded, saying beautiful words one by one, such as paying attention to the body, surely winning a great victory, etc...

The next day, Wang Yan got up to exercise as usual, and after eating breakfast with his wives, he took a hundred personal guards and rode south.

There were already many people on the Liaoxi Corridor now. The militia were transporting military weapons and grain south. The roadside was full of women, the old, and the weak. Because they lived close, their men were the first to be mobilized. However, many people were transporting military weapons and grain, belonging to the logistics team. As for the real combat soldiers, Wang Yan only recruited three thousand this time.

At this point, it is impossible to recruit troops from Liaodong on a large scale. After all, to this day, Liaodong only has one million four hundred thousand people. It is supplying the large army, supporting officials, medical practitioners, and a group of famous scholars and scholars in the Wenchang Pavilion, as well as the navy, shipbuilding, etc. These are all burdens on Liaodong.

Soon to take down Youzhou, the army in the future will have to be recruited from Youzhou to reduce the burden on Liaodong. These are all general adjustments. If it weren't for his Wang Mou's proper adjustment, the development of products, and the occupation of geographical advantages, he wouldn't be able to toss.

Walking south like this, Wang Yan once again saw what the Youzhou that had been looted by him and his army looked like now.

The common people in the Linyu area have many brick houses, smoke curling from the chimneys, and it is quite popular. The mental outlook of the people here is not as good as that in Liaodong, but they are also much more energetic. They are also close to the sea here, and they all have fish and seafood to supplement. This year's harvest can also be eaten. Chickens, ducks, geese, and pigs, etc., are not many in number. This is very normal. Liaodong has experienced six years, and this has just barely completed the raising of these meat foods in every household.

However, this situation will soon change, after all, this is exponential. After taking down Youzhou, the whole territory will experience a bumper harvest, and after having surplus grain, Liaodong common people will also have many chicken, duck, goose, and pig seedlings. The General's Mansion will fund the purchase, which can make every household in Youzhou raise them.

There will certainly be disasters and plagues. When they were raised intensively before, they appeared. However, there are also medical practitioners in the medical school who specialize in breeding, and the experience summary is okay. Anyway, if there are problems, they can be overcome, and if there are losses, they can be accepted...

From Tuhe to Feiru, a distance of over five hundred *li*, Wang Yan took a hundred personal guards and walked for four days. When he arrived at the Xuanwu Guard army stationed in Feiru, and saw the Deputy Battalion Commander and the Army Sima of the Xuanwu Guard, as well as the Xuanjia Battalion, this battle had not yet started.

Huang Zhong predicted three days, which was truly overestimating this group of mobs

The reputation of General Wang was still quite resounding among the current people of Youzhou.

To ask the common people and soldiers to fight against a kind-hearted man who treated his people very well and only taxed one-tenth of the harvest, while they themselves were being beaten and scolded to drive them forward—one only had to think about it to know that the simple-hearted people were unwilling.

This was something Wang Yan had analyzed from the speed of the march; whether it was correct or not, he didn't know, but the intensity of the war would certainly not be great.

At the entrance of the military camp, looking at the crowd of officers welcoming him, Wang Yan glanced toward the west once more, then smilingly followed the officers into the Regional Commander's tent...