The Warriors of the Three Kingdoms

After all, Liu Zheng is not his subordinate, but a reinforcement he paid for.

Liu Zheng stationed troops in Shaoyang, and Cai Mao's people also followed. The two sides pretended to fight a few times. After losing some soldiers and horses, they confronted each other. Instead of continuing to fight, they came to a stalemate.

Chapter 262 Supplementary Soldiers and Horses

Cai Mao clearly knew Liu Zheng's strength, so naturally he would not confront Liu Zheng.

After the two sides pretended to fight a few times, they stopped each other, and Chen Bing was near Changsha County and Lingling County.

The uprising of Guo Shi in the four counties of Jingnan also came to an end at this time.Although Guo Shi still occupies Wuling County.But the influence of the Guo Shi uprising was reduced to the lightest at this time.

At the same time, Lingling County and Guiyang County are already in the hands of Liu Zheng. Liu Zheng is powerful and cannot be defeated in a short while.

The two sides stalemate for a month.Liu Biao's order also came from Xiangyang.

The envoy sent by Liu Biao greatly praised Cai Mao's achievements.

Although Cai Mao did not completely defeat Liu Zheng and Guo Shi, but was at a stalemate with Liu Zheng and others, this did not hinder Cai Mao's contribution in this battle.

Using his own troops, he first recovered Nanjun, brought Nanjun back into Liu Biao's command, and then led his troops to seize Changsha County from Liu Zheng.

The land of these two counties has now truly become Liu Biao's territory.Liu Biao's influence expanded in Jingzhou.

Although Wuling County, Lingling County, and Guiyang County are still in the hands of the rebels.But these three counties were not under Liu Biao's control at the beginning, whether they existed or not.

Liu Biao lavishly praised Cai Mao's contribution in this battle, and promoted Cai Mao to rank, and once became Liu Biao's most trusted general.

And as Liu Zheng expected, in order to prevent Liu Zheng's attack, Liu Biao did not let Cai Mao evacuate, but continued to let Cai Mao lead people to station in Changsha County to prevent Liu Zheng's attack.

After receiving this news, Liu Zheng finally felt relieved. As long as the person stationed here is still Cai Mao, then Liu Zheng knows that he and Cai Mao will not be able to fight in a short time.

At the same time, within a month, news of Wang Fen and others finally came from Jizhou.

As expected by Liu Zheng, although Wang Fen had some people to help him and supported Han Shaodi Liu Bian as the emperor to contend with the imperial court, his strength was still not as profound as that of the Han court for hundreds of years.

Under the leadership of Huangfusong, although there were only tens of thousands of soldiers and horses.But after uniting Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Han Fu and many other historical princes, they launched an attack on Jizhou together.

After several months of resistance, the 10,000+ soldiers and horses formed by Wang Fen with all his family wealth were finally out of ammunition and food.

After Huangfusong's men broke into the palace in Jizhou, Wang Fen committed suicide in the palace in Jizhou, and the whereabouts of Emperor Han Shao were unknown.

A mighty battle for the throne has finally come to an end.

For Liu Zheng, even though he is far away in Jizhou, he is also very concerned about it, because the matter in Jizhou has been dealt with by the court, and the court will definitely free up its hands to deal with him in the future, and the time left for Liu Zheng will not Too much.

Liu Zheng, who knew he didn't have much time, recruited soldiers and horses aggressively during this month.

This time the soldiers and horses of the signs were recruited differently from the battalions of soldiers and horses he had established before.

The men and horses recruited before were mainly used for foreign wars.battles with other princes.Almost all of them use Liu Zheng's main force, and those are his elite.

And this time the recruits are mainly used to guard the county soldiers in charge of public security management in various counties and counties.It belongs to the second-line army.

Just like later generations, two different arms are specially distinguished, one is the group army for foreign operations and the armed forces for maintaining law and order in various cities.

Liu Zheng wanted to select the first batch of soldiers and horses from these armed forces, and then select the outstanding ones from these armed forces to join his main force.

Liu Zheng, who pursues the policy of elite soldiers, uses ranks to distinguish the strength and nobility of soldiers and horses.

It is better to have a lack of people than to make up for them. Having more useless people will only reduce the combat power of the army.

In one month, Liu Zheng recruited 6 to 1 county soldiers in Jiaozhou, and each county has at least [-] people guarding it.

It only takes three months of training, and these county soldiers can play some role. At that time, Liu Zheng will select people with sufficient strength from the 6 to [-] people to join his main combat group army.

Of course, the sudden recruitment of 6 to [-] county soldiers, even if the military expenses are paid, is not a small sum.

Fortunately, when Liu Zheng went to Changsha, he got the business dividend from Mi Fang that had not been turned in for several months.

The bonus of more than 1000 gold a month was superimposed over several months, allowing Liu Zheng to get a large sum of money all at once.

Although the money was not fixed every month, and some of the money was lost in one or two months because of the Guo Shi uprising and the capture of Changsha County, but Liu Zheng got some money and food from Guo Shi before.

Calculated, it is not a loss. This large sum of money is just enough to recruit soldiers and horses, and it is still completely enough for short-term military expenditures.

After a long time, although there will be financial constraints, after a few months, the Mi family will still have new income, and at the same time, the people of Jiaozhou will also have some tax revenue, which can temporarily alleviate Liu Zheng's economic crisis.

Liu Zheng also called Cai Yao from Jiaozhou at this time, and when he arrived in Shaoyang City, he planned to let Cai Yao meet his elder brother Cai Mao, whom he hadn't seen for a long time.

Originally, when Liu Zheng wanted to take the opportunity to ask Cai Yao if he wanted to go back with Cai Yao, Cai Yao didn't seem to have such an idea, but now Cai Mao has also seen Liu Zheng's potential, and he didn't mention the matter of letting his sister go back. .

Simply let Cai Yao continue to follow Liu Zheng.

On this day, Liu Zhengzheng planned to go to meet the 1 horses sent by Zhou Cang from Jiaozhou, suddenly Yuan Zhou hurried over from the outside.

"Mr. Yuan Zhou, where are you going in such a hurry?"

"Where else can I go? Naturally, I came to see you, my lord. I have something urgent to ask you."

"What's the matter? Could it be that the court sent troops to us?"

The only thing that can make Liu Zheng feel that it is an important matter now is the Han court.

"It is true that a group of soldiers and horses appeared around us, but I don't know if it is the people of the Han Dynasty. They are not far from Shaoyang City. They sent envoys to come and call to see you, my lord."

Yuan Zhou didn't hesitate and told Liu Zheng the matter directly, which surprised Liu Zheng.

"Who? How many people?"

"About [-] people. I don't know the exact number. The leader is a young general. He looks very young and looks very downcast. I can't tell where he is from."

Liu Zheng hurriedly asked Yuan Zhou, but Yuan Zhou didn't know those people very well.

"More than [-] people, aren't they enemies?"

"They didn't attack the city directly, they just called to see you, my lord."

Chapter 263

Yuan Zhou's words aroused Liu Zheng's interest. At that moment, Liu Zheng walked out of Shaoyang City with Yuan Zhou, intending to meet him. The name of the shop was to meet his own people.

Those people did not enter the city, but settled temporarily outside Shaoyang City. They did not come from the direction where Cai Mao's garrison was located. Presumably, they came from the direction of Yangzhou.

In order to show their sincerity in seeking to see Liu Zheng, those people did not come directly with soldiers and horses, but only three or five people entered the city, and then waited for Liu Zheng to go to see them in the reception hall on one side.

It is precisely because of this that Liu Zheng chose to meet him.

As soon as he entered the door, Liu Zheng's eyes fell on those people, and he was taken aback for a moment.

These people were none other than people he was familiar with.

In the hall, there were four people standing at this moment, one was Chu Yan, who was recognized by Liu Zheng at a glance, the same appearance he had seen a year ago.

The other two are Zhao Hong and Sun Xia.

Of these two, Sun Xia separated from Liu Zheng in Runan, and he returned to Nanyang with some of his original soldiers and horses to unite with Zhao Hong.

And Zhao Hong has been stationed in Nanyang County with Zhang Mancheng's remnants. Before Liu Zheng could occasionally receive some news about Zhao Hong and Sun Xia. Later, after Liu Zheng brought people to Jiaozhou, the distance was too far, so the news came The news is less.

Because Liu Zheng left the Yellow Turban Army, he didn't pay too much attention to their deeds. He didn't expect that they would appear outside Shaoyang City at this time.

As for the last person, who was dressed in armor and looked like a young general, when Liu Zheng first glanced at him, he really didn't know who this person was.

Although Liu Zheng could see a sense of familiarity from that person's appearance.But Liu Zheng was sure that he didn't seem to know such a general.

When Liu Zheng glanced over Zhao Hong and the others again, he immediately thought of something, and then blurted out two words with a fierce expression on his face.

"Zhang Ning!"

This person is none other than Zhang Ning, the saint of the Yellow Turban Sect.

The last time Liu Zheng saw Zhang Ning was in Runan. At that time, Zhang Ning was ordered by Zhang Jiao, the general of Tiangong, to reward Liu Zheng and bestow upon Liu Zheng the title of Commander-in-Chief of Runan Daqu.

Later, Zhang Ning went to Zhang Mancheng for help, and took Zhang Mancheng's reinforcements to Jizhou, as if he was making some last efforts for the Yellow Turban Army.

However, Zhang Ning's hard work was reduced to ashes after the sudden death of Tiangong General Zhang Jiao.

The Yellow Turban Army was still like a bubble, dissipating in smoke, and the army of millions collapsed in just a few months.

After the Yellow Turban Army was destroyed, there was no news from Zhang Ning. At that time, Liu Zheng hadn't worried about Zhang Ning for a while, but after he didn't receive any news from Zhang Ning, Zhang Ning, a woman, was in Liu Zheng's In my heart, I gradually didn't care so much.

But Liu Zheng didn't expect that he would meet Zhang Ning in Shaoyang a year later.

Today's Zhang Ning has changed from the previous dress of his daughter's house. He is wearing silver armor and holding a long sword in his hand. He looks heroic, but he really has the demeanor of a brave young general.

Although it is said that the capital of the Yellow Turban Army is not much, and they need money but no money, and food but no food, Zhao Hong and Zhang Ning are ordinary people. One is a saint of the Yellow Turban Army, and the other is Qu Shuai from Nanyang. Not many, relatively wealthy people.

The clothes on her body are quite gorgeous, and she doesn't look ordinary.

"Liu Zheng and Da Qushuai, I haven't seen you for a year, I didn't expect you to know me."

"Miss Ning'er was joking. I, Liu Zheng, are not blind. When Miss Ning'er came to Runan to give me the order of General Tiangong, I still remember it so vividly. How dare I forget it?"

"You still remember that incident, but you mentioned my father's name, but forgot that you have already left the Yellow Turban Army. Should I say that you are ungrateful or treacherous?"

Zhang Ning turned his head and looked at Liu Zheng. There was not much expression on his snow-white face.

After Zhang Ning finished speaking, she looked at Liu Zheng.Although the expression on his face didn't change much, it looked very cold.

But Liu Zheng can still see through Zhang Ning's eyes, and from her eyes, Zhang Ning's eyes are full of resentment.

In any case, Zhang Ning still blames Liu Zheng a little bit. After all, Liu Zheng is capable of leading the Yellow Turban Army to continue to develop in this troubled world, but Liu Zheng directly stated that he would leave the Yellow Turban Army, so that Zhang Ning's last hope was lost. shattered.

"Ingratitude, treachery!"

Liu Zheng chanted these two words carefully, with a faint smile on the corner of his mouth.

"Miss Ning'er, think about it for yourself. If I, Liu Zheng, were a treacherous and ungrateful person, how could I lead thousands of soldiers to guard Runan and block Dong Zhuo's [-] army? How could I rely on those few people under my command?" I went to attack Hulao Pass, and even bought you a month, and even led my elite troops to attack Luoyang at night, killing Emperor Han!"

"Isn't anything I do more dangerous than your battle in Jizhou?"

"I risked my life to play with you, but what kind of reward will you give me in the end? Fighting against each other, let the officers and soldiers find an opportunity, and hundreds of thousands of troops were wiped out in the blink of an eye! The reason for the uprising It will fail, which is not a crime of war at all."

When Liu Zheng said these words, he also said it lightly, and did not emphasize his tone, telling his hard work.

The other people naturally didn't know Liu Zheng's danger at the beginning, but the expression on Sun Xia's face who was standing aside was a little moved.

Sun Xia followed Liu Zheng and went all the way north to enter Hulao Pass. He stayed at Hulao Pass for nearly a month. After that month's hard work, Lu Zhi's soldiers attacked back and forth, and the lost soldiers on the tower of Hulao Pass were defeated. At the cost of losing 2 people, Hulaoguan was saved for a month without being beaten down.

And Sun Xia has experienced all of them. Even Sun Xia was surprised by this kind of game of sacrificing his life. Now that he thinks about it, he feels a sense of fear. Hulao is closed.

Sun Xia understood how brave Liu Zheng was back then.But even though Liu Zheng was brave and tried hard to fight for the final glory of the Yellow Turban Army, he couldn't withstand the devastating blow brought by the main force of the Yellow Turban Army.

After saying this, Zhang Ning, who was still complaining just now, also changed his expression.

"Even so, my father treats you well. Why did you betray us? If you unite with us, even if you can't overthrow the imperial court now, you will definitely do something. The world is so big, we only need to occupy a few counties in one state Steady development, and then slowly plan it in the end, it may not be impossible to successfully overthrow the imperial court!"

Chapter 264 Zhang Jiao's Will

Zhang Ning inherited Zhang Jiao's will and wanted to complete the great cause of the Yellow Turban Army for his father, so no matter what, Zhang Ning's leftover will has not been extinguished. Zhang Ning is taking over from Zhang Jiao to protect the last blood of the Yellow Turban Army .

"Miss Ning'er, I think you know better than me what the world looks like today. Do you think the Yellow Turban Army still needs to exist? Do you still think that the Yellow Turban Army can overthrow the imperial court? Take a step back and occupy the power of several counties in one state." , I can actually do it myself, you see, the current me, haven’t I already done it?”

Liu Zheng didn't deny Zhang Ning, nor did he argue with Zhang Ning whether the Yellow Turban Army still had the ability to overthrow the imperial court. He just asked Zhang Ning back and asked Zhang Ning to think for himself whether the Yellow Turban Army still had the ability to fight the imperial court.

As for the last sentence, Liu Zheng doesn't know whether Zhang Ning knows that Liu Zheng recently occupied Jiaozhou. Regardless of whether Zhang Ning knows it or not, Liu Zheng is doing well by himself now. It can be said that it is much better.

Asked by Liu Zheng, Zhang Ning's little face immediately turned paler. No one knows better than her what the situation of the Yellow Turban Army is now.

After the First World War in Jizhou, the veterans of the Yellow Turban Army died and fled. Millions of troops were wiped out overnight, leaving only a few small forces to flee to nearby states and counties.

These people, although ostensibly under the banner of the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army, have actually become rogues, without a fixed base, and live by looting houses all day long, no different from rogues.

Even if someone stood up to respond to the command of the Yellow Turban Army, those remnants scattered all over the place would not take the initiative to come and seek refuge. There were not many direct descendants who were truly loyal to the Yellow Turban Army.

In fact, the Yellow Turban Army exists in name only and does not play much role in this troubled world.

Regarding this point, Liu Zheng is also very clear. Although the Yellow Turban Army in the late Han Dynasty had many remnants who stood up to fight against the imperial court, it was only a flash in the pan and was soon suppressed. Moreover, the Yellow Turban Army from all over the place had no intention of fighting against the imperial court. But they are all fighting for their own interests.

This kind of straggler-style confrontation has no effect on Liu Zheng at all, and it is not what he wants to pursue. What he wants is a personality cult rule similar to the present one.

He alone can firmly command the entire army. Only when the orders are issued and the entire army is united, so that everyone can fight under his deployment, can they use the only resources to fight against the imperial court.

If he continues to stay in the Yellow Turban Army, he will inevitably be restrained by officials of various levels such as the remnants of the Yellow Turban Army and veterans. go in.

This is completely an operation that is not worth the loss, how could Liu Zheng not understand it.

So quitting the Yellow Turban Army directly was the most correct choice he made at the beginning.

What's more, when Liu Zheng saw Zhang Ning and others coming to Shaoyang with more than [-] people at this time, Liu Zheng had already guessed in his heart that it was probably because Zhao Hong and others couldn't get along in Nanyang that they came here Otherwise, if Zhao Hong and Zhang Ning really had the ability to fight against the imperial court, how could they bring their troops to this remote place?

"So, are you determined not to return to the Yellow Turban Army and fight against the imperial court with us?"