Chapter 772: The Sound of Drums and Horns Shows Its Sharp Edge (44)

Seeing Zhou Yuan lift the cloak from his head and appear in front of him, Kumamoto couldn't help but have mixed feelings. After seeing Zhou Yuan for several years, he never imagined that he would see Zhou Yuan again in such a situation. For Xiong Ben, Zhou Yuan can be regarded as a benefactor. Xiong Ben can be said to have been promoted by Zhou Yuan. When he conquered Donghu, he even gave him the important task of vanguard general, and he never Despite Zhou Yuan's hopes, several battles were fought with great vigor.

"Lieutenant!" His voice was choked and he fell to the ground.

Zhou Yuan took a step forward, helped Xiongben up, looked at him carefully for a while, and then said bitterly: "You have suffered so much these years, and you look so old, Xiongben, it was me who harmed you. If I hadn't been so happy, How could I let hundreds of thousands of troops be trapped in Donghu without checking the details and with selfish intentions? I am a sinner."

Xiongben shook his head repeatedly, "Lieutenant, who is selfless in his heart? If you are selfless in your heart, you are a saint. None of us are saints. Although the final decision was made by the Taiwei, we senior generals did not add fuel to the flames. Who is willing to give up the opportunity to destroy Donghu and go down in history easily? If the Taiwei is the sinner, why am I not?"

Hearing Xiong Ben's explanation for himself, Zhou Yuan couldn't help but feel a little sad, "In these years, you insisted on staying in Donghu and saved many Yan Army soldiers. It's been a hard time for you."

"It's not bitter. This is what I should do. It's just Lieutenant. What are you doing?"

"It's hard to explain in one word!" Zhou Yuan sighed, "The times have changed. The situation in Jicheng is over. Gao Yuan's troops are approaching. Whether it's for the country or for myself, I can only choose again."

The two sat down, and Zhou Yuan began to explain the current situation in Dayan to Kumamoto in detail. When he heard that Zhou Yuan came to him just before setting off. Gao Yuan has forced Jicheng to place Langya and Yuyang under the rule of the Eastern Expedition Army. Kumamoto couldn't help but be shocked.

"How can the Yan Kingdom become the Yan Kingdom again after losing Langya and Yuyang?" Xiongben sighed.

"Jicheng can no longer be counted on. Now Gaoyuan is located in Langya, Yuyang, Hejian, Liaoxi, Prairie, Hetao and other vast areas. After taking Yuyang and Langya, the population under its rule has surpassed that of Yan State. With the high efficiency of Zhengdong Mansion's governance, it won't take long for these two places to become Gaoyuan's military base and granary. Tianhe County, where Jicheng is located, will be attacked from three sides and will not be able to hold on for long. As for the current general trend of other states and counties. There are already many people who have been secretly flirting with Zhengdong Mansion. There are also people who are preparing to defect to Qi State. Now the people of Dayan are in disarray. "Zhou Yuan shook his head.

"Why did Taiwei choose Gao Yuan?" Xiong Ben asked: "Taiwei, over the years, Taiwei and Gao Yuan have had deep grudges. Aren't Taiwei afraid that Gao Yuan will settle accounts in the future and it will be detrimental to you?"

Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "Gao Yuan,

Such a big heart. What was truly unexpected was that his heart was not above personal grudges. And in the world. He wants to point his sword at the world and compete in the Central Plains. Some personal grudges were out of the corner of his eye. I was also suspicious at first, so I thought of a way to test him and ask his son to make a marriage agreement with my little granddaughter. What do you think? "

"He agreed?"

"Yes, he agreed, and he has signed a marriage contract with me, the Zhou family, as the Zheng family." Zhou Yuan said.

"So, I really want to congratulate the captain!" Kumamoto said with a cupped hand.

"This was a test, but I didn't expect him to agree so readily. I thought about it over and over again, and finally figured out that Gao Yuan allowed me to come, not only because of your affairs here, but also because I still have people in the Yan Kingdom. Bo Wang, after Gao Yuan defeats Donghu, he will definitely draw his sword and go south, break into Jicheng, and change the dynasty. At that time, I, Zhou Yuan, will be able to come in handy. Ning Zecheng has a daughter, do you remember? "

"Of course I remember. I heard she was a very beautiful woman, but I have never seen her before."

"This person is also in Zhengdong Mansion now, and he is in a high position." Zhou Yuan looked at Xiong Ben, "I really didn't expect that the two old guys who were the most vigorous in dealing with Gao Yuan, now I and Ning Zecheng's descendants are going to Take shelter under Gao Yuan."

"Taiwei, are you optimistic about Gao Yuan?"

"I stayed in Jishi City for a while and walked around at will. It was this period of wandering that made me make my final determination. I have never seen such a prosperous and energetic place. Gao Yuan's true strength is not only Not only is it reflected in his army, but his construction among the people is even more refreshing. The reason why the Qin State is strong is because it adopts Li Ru's teachings. And now Jiang Jiaquan, who is in charge of political affairs in Zhengdong Mansion, and Master Li Ru comes from the same school, but his ideas are quite different. In my opinion, Jiang Jiaquan's ideas are even better. Gao Yuan gave him a stage to display his talents. As Gao Yuan's territory grew larger, his teachings also began to develop. It was successfully implemented under Gao Yuan’s rule and has now become Gao Yuan’s solid backing.”

"I also know something about Li Ru's teachings. It was because of Li Ru that Qin became the most powerful country in the world within a few decades. Since Jiang Jiaquan came from the same school as him, I don't know what the difference is. ?”

"It's very simple. In a nutshell, one is a rich country and poor people, and the other is to hide wealth among the people. The Qin State is rich and the people are poor, while the far-reaching Zhengdong Mansion runs a deficit every year and borrows money from the people every year. I am here this time Before you came here, he had just borrowed millions of taels of silver from the people. I heard that it was in the form of bonds, which were purchased by the people themselves and repaid once a year with interest. "

"People will lend him money?" Xiongmoto found it a bit incredible. "Why doesn't he raise taxes?"

"You see, this is the difference between our thinking and theirs. In our opinion, when the country has no money, it will think of raising taxes on the people, and raising taxes will often make people resentful. They are different. Borrowing money, sometimes I wonder, why do people support him more and more when he borrows more and more money?"

Xiongben thought for a moment and suddenly said: "Maybe the people feel that if Gao Yuan loses, they will lose everything."

Zhou Yuan laughed loudly, "That's probably the truth! But if the people are willing to lend him money, it's worth considering. Since ancient times, those who win the hearts of the people win the world. How can Gao Yuan not be valued by me if he wins the hearts of the people like this? That's why I chose him when I had a second chance to choose. Kumamoto, now you also have a second chance to choose. Will you follow Gao Yuan and join the Zhengdong Army? He is still young and can lead an army and gallop around the world. Gao Yuan has always welcomed a general like you who has rich experience in commanding troops. To be honest, he is currently lacking such talents. "

"Will Gao Yuan use me?"

"He even dares to use me, why doesn't he dare to use you?" Zhou Yuan said with a smile: "Gao Yuan will first pacify Donghu, then he will take the capital of Yan, pacify the whole Yan, and finally he will point his halberd at the world and unify the Central Plains. Don't you want to Following this wave, will you meet the heroes of the world and make yourself famous in history?”

Kumamoto couldn't help but feel his heart beat.

"But Taiwei, you also know the situation I have here now. Although I have regained control of this army, the equipment is poor and the food and grass are stuck in the hands of the Donghu people. In fact, the Donghu people do not trust our army and have always monitored it. "Strictly speaking, as long as our army makes the slightest move, the Donghu cavalry in Ningyuan City will definitely raise their butcher's knives at us. If the general doesn't say something discouraging, the spirit of this army has long been gone," Xiong Ben said with some dejection.

"You don't have to worry about this. The Eastern Expedition Army has already made a plan." Zhou Yuan waved his hand, "Xu Yuan, commander of the Northern Group Army of the Eastern Expedition Army, and Sun Xiao, the governor of Liaodong, have gathered 50,000 troops in Tengger. These 50,000 troops Among them, there is a cavalry force of more than 15,000 people. Next, the Zhengdong Army will launch a large-scale attack on Jingyuan, and the vanguard is this 15,000-man cavalry force. Think about it. If Jingyuan is in danger, can Ningyuan's Wusu Suotan still sit still? He will definitely go to the rescue. This is your chance. "

"He will take our troops with him." Xiong Ben said.

"No, he will definitely not take you there. Firstly, your army is all infantry and cannot be as fast as theirs. Secondly, Ususotan cannot completely trust you. The war is imminent. I will attack with you. Do you think he is not worried, so he will leave you to guard Ningyuan?" Zhou Yuan said with certainty, "The Eastern Expeditionary Army attacked Jingyuan. In fact, the intention of attacking was to besiege the city and bring reinforcements. The real main force and goal. It is this army of Ususuotan that is aimed at.”

"If that's the case, I will lead my army to pursue them after capturing Ningyuan, and then stab them when they are most in danger." Kumamoto clenched his fists.

"That's right." Zhou Yuan smiled and said: "When Wusu Suotan is in danger, he will definitely seek medical treatment and ask for help from you. At this time, you will lead your army to advance directly, give him the final blow, and completely destroy this enemy." To support the Donghu army, what I am most worried about here is the morale and combat effectiveness of your unit."

"Lieutenant, if we go to fight against the Dongjun Army, I will worry about this. But if we go to fight against the Donghu people, I am afraid that all of my subordinates will moan and groan and cannot wait. With Ningyuan, I will have enough food and grass. , no longer controlled by the Donghu people, this battle will definitely be victorious. "

When Zhou Yuan quietly left the Kumamoto camp with satisfaction, a high-level military meeting was also being held in Tengger. Xu Yuan, the commander of the Northern Group Army, was sitting in the main seat. Next to him was Sun Xiao, who had just taken up the post of Protector of Liaodong. He explained that Sun Xiao's position as Protector of Liaodong was higher, but now it was a military meeting and Sun Xiao had already turned to civil affairs. In such an occasion, naturally he would not Take the spotlight from the guests.

Xu Yuan was very concerned about the current battle. This was his first battle after taking office as the Northern Field Army. Naturally, there was no room for failure. He glanced at the generals under his command and couldn't help but feel a little proud in his heart. , with such a tiger and wolf teacher, why worry about the injustice of Donghu.

He stood up, and when he was about to issue a combat order, the door of the conference room was kicked open. In the conference room where the senior generals went to gather, something like this happened. Naturally, there was some confusion. It was incredible, but when all the generals saw the man standing at the door, they all shrank their necks. Even Xu Yuan, who had been so complacent just now, suddenly felt a headache.

Because standing at the door was He Lanyan, who was already several months pregnant and looked a little pregnant. (To be continued)