Chapter 134 Pre-War Planning
At Tongguan, when Black Bear arrived, Gan Ning finished his work early, probably because it was cloudy and rainy.

Black bears also climbed this fortress. Tongguan has no great reputation or famous battles at present.

It can only be regarded as a substitute for Hangu Pass and is one of the barrier passes surrounding Guanzhong.

Therefore, with more than 1,800 people stationed in the city, it was somewhat crowded.

More than 200 knights will stay in the Central Camp tonight. The accommodation conditions are even worse, but they are still better than tents.

Gan Ning also learned Black Bear's drawing skills and came to see Black Bear with a piece of wood.

At this time, Black Bear was standing on the only north tower of the city wall, looking east, and could see a new beacon tower had been set up in the distance.

There are several beacon towers by the river. The sand and soil by the river are loose and cannot be used to build walls, so the beacon towers are built with wood.

There are also several beacon towers on the southern ridge. There must be beacon towers in the blind spot behind the ridge. These are made of earthen mounds.

However, Tongguan is too close to Huayin. What’s the point of this beacon tower issuing a warning?
It is unclear what the Huayin defender is thinking, but setting up a beacon tower is a steady strategy.

If you discover it an hour earlier and make an extra hour of preparation, you won’t be so panic-stricken.

While thinking, Gan Ning arranged the wooden board and explained to Black Bear: "General Qu, there is a drought in Hebei this year, which has affected Henei. Zhang Sheng of Henei gathered the hungry people and crossed the river from Mengjin, looting the northwest of Luoyang, and now he is coming to Hongnong via Hangu Pass."

Gan Ning pointed to the largest force in the east of Hongnong County and said, "Zhang Sheng is a former subordinate of Zhang Yang, the former governor of Henei County. After Zhang Yang's death, Zhang Sheng was dismissed from office. Now he has gathered hungry people to rebel. Because he often rides a white horse, he calls himself Zhang Baiqi."

This is the same nickname as a series of leaders of the Black Mountain Army. Unfortunately, Zhang Sheng was already a well-known figure before he started the rebellion, and he gathered hungry people from the western mountainous area of ​​Hanoi County, so he was recognized.

Gan Ning pointed to Shan County in the middle of Hongnong and said: "Linghu Shao, the governor of Hongnong appointed by Hebei, has arrived in Shanjin and is recruiting officials and soldiers to gather food and fodder. There are about a thousand people now. When the autumn grain collection is completed, there will be about five thousand people."

Nearly half of them responded to the conscription, probably just to get back the autumn grain they had paid; we cannot expect these people to have any fighting enthusiasm unless the battle is favorable.

Finally, Gan Ning pointed to Huayin in front of him and said, "Huayin garrison commander Liu Kai is a captain recommended by Linghu Shao. He is from Hejian, Hebei."

Black Bear smiled after hearing this and said, "So Linghu Shao doesn't dare to trust the people of Hongnong for the time being. Let alone him, I don't dare to believe him either."

The Hongnong Yang family is such a large group that they may not be able to defeat the locals in other places, but in Hongnong, the Yang family is the king.

The chief clerk of the Yang family easily broke away from Zhong Yao, and Zhong Yao also left without hesitation. Who would believe that there was no conspiracy?
Linghu Shao was also afraid that he would be deceived by Yang and taken to Huayin, and then inexplicably tied up and brought in front of Zhong Yao.

It's good for the other party to be suspicious of each other.

In this military operation, if we can seize Huayin's food and population, it will be a good start; if we cannot seize the food, we can at least bring the population back.

If the defending general wants to burn the food, then we should rescue as much as we can. We cannot leave any for Linghu Shao.

Hongnong is mountainous with little plain land, so food is in short supply.

The people of Hedong are also willing to provide food, but how much are they willing to provide?

The food from Hedong was limited, and the patience of the people of Hedong was also limited. When it was almost consumed, the internal filth broke out.

Gan Ning saw that Black Bear was happy, so he reminded him, "General, I heard that when Zhang Sheng was young, he followed Huangfu Song to suppress the Yellow Turbans as a Sanhe Knight. He was a fierce general. Now he has been invited by Linghu Shao to come to Hongnong. His troops are starving and exhausted. Under Linghu Shao's control, he will definitely fight to the death."

"Xingba, don't worry. Among these more than 10,000 hungry people, half are men and half are women. If you count the children, only half of Zhang Sheng's troops are young and strong. Among them, there are no more than a thousand brave men."

Black Bear was very clear about the background of the refugee leader. When he was on the run, he also had the opportunity to coerce the people and become a refugee leader.

It's just that I'm too soft-hearted to do such a thing.

Anyway, Cao Cao's main army was stationed in Chenliu, and he would flee to Huainan with 20,000 to 30,000 refugees, and Liu Fu would come forward to appease him.

But the risks were too great and there was some moral pressure, so Black Bear gave up the idea early on.

Otherwise, look at the refugee groups led by Song Wu and Zhang Jun. They also have the opportunity to grow bigger and stronger.

Therefore, Black Bear was very relaxed and said to Gan Ning: "Even if we think Zhang Sheng is more powerful, the number of soldiers under his command will not exceed 3,000. 3,000 soldiers will only bring more than 10,000 mouths. Linghu Shao is losing a lot in this deal."

Gan Ning said, "Perhaps Zhang Sheng has had contact with the Yuan family for a long time and is someone Linghu Shao can trust."

"That's probably it."

Black Bear lowered his eyebrows and looked at the map. He raised his hand and knocked on Tongguan and smiled: "Yuan Tan, how can he fight me? He will set up camp nearby. The flat land near Tongguan is all sandy and soft, so it is impossible to build a wall. He will probably wait until the weather gets cold, irrigate the sand with water, and build an ice wall and ice city. But if that happens, will he have enough food?"

Thinking of this, Black Bear looked up at the wooden beacon tower by the river in the distance and frowned slightly: "Captain Liu Kai is from Hebei, and now he knows that the soil in Tongguan is soft. It seems that this military intelligence has been delivered to Yuan Tan."

If the commander of Huayin was a native of Hongnong, and he and the people around him already knew about the soil quality of Tongguan, he would subconsciously think that everyone else knew about it and would not specifically report the soil quality problem of Tongguan.

Unfortunately, the other party is from Hebei, and he has already discovered the soil problem and has probably reported it.

The land is not suitable for camping, which is very important information.

As long as it is reported, Yuan Tan will not neglect it.

As he said this, his eyes fell on Gan Ning's face: "Xingba, if you were Yuan Tan, what would you think?"

Gan Ning was silent now, and thought seriously for a moment: "If I were Yuan Tan, after hearing that his commander had joined forces with Zhong Yao, I would be angry at his commander, but I would also send an envoy to seek an alliance with his commander."

Seeing that Black Bear remained silent, Gan Ning continued, "If we cannot unite, then we can contact Zhong Yao and try to sow discord. Let the troops stationed on the north bank of the Wei River sit back and wait and see. Then, he will inevitably be angry if he is left alone to defend Tongguan. Then we can send an envoy to negotiate, and perhaps we can achieve results. If that fails, we can lead our troops to attack and fight to the death."

Gan Ning mentioned sending envoys for negotiations twice. Black Bear listened and fell into deep thought. Was he so unprincipled that he could be easily bribed?

No, it was Gan Ning's vision that had transcended that of an ordinary military commander and was beginning to develop towards the level of a general.

Seeking diplomatic and political means to resolve problems is the quality of a top-notch general.

Gan Ning has potential in this area and has strategic planning capabilities.

So when you are young and strong, you can be a general, and when you are old, you can be a marshal.

He is a natural pillar of the country.

Black Bear nodded slowly and sneered: "You overestimate Yuan Tan. If he is determined to die, he will not be abandoned by the people of Hebei. Regardless of all this, have a good rest tonight. If it does not rain tomorrow, we will head to Huayin. I will go back first to prevent Ma Chao from causing trouble."

"Yes, I will obey your command."

Gan Ning bowed solemnly in response, and Black Bear turned around and went down the tower, rode on the Yin Gan horse, led Lu Bu, and galloped westward like the wind.

On the city wall, Gan Ning stared blankly again, and his desire for the ghost horse became even stronger.

Perhaps one needs to have made special achievements to have such a ghost horse. The black bear came and went like the wind, and it had become a focus of discussion in the daily lives of the people in the cities and towns near the Chidao.

I am not afraid of them discussing, I am afraid of them not discussing.

Only by becoming the king of traffic in Weinan city can people quickly get to know him.

Some children and teenagers were waiting by the side of the road, watching Black Bear and Lu Bu riding their horses towards them. As they were jumping for joy, the two Black Bears passed by them and galloped away again.

The road was very wide, and many teenagers standing on the roadside could still feel the slight vibrations caused by the horses' hooves trampling the ground.

On the Wei River, Zhong Yao and Wei Ji were still fishing.

Two thousand infantrymen had already crossed the river and followed Ma Chao towards Lantian, bypassing Mount Li. They disappeared from the sight of Zhong Yao and his men an hour ago.

At this time, Zhong Yao and Wei Ji saw the black bear galloping towards them again. Without stopping, they ran away along the road.

Wei Ji looked up and stared in a daze, his brows slightly frowned, then relaxed again.

Then Zhong Yao asked, "Are you thinking about General Huya's two majestic dragon horses?"

Wei Ji nodded: "If such a divine race can reproduce, there will be more than a thousand riders, and all the barbarians will be enslaved. If the barbarians are like this, how can the heroes of the world escape?"

Looking at the smiling Zhong Yao, Wei Ji was moved and said, "Recently, there have been many letters from Hedong. I am quite distressed. I don't know where to entrust my life."

Anyway, it is impossible for Zhong Yao to do this. Wei Ji had previously controlled another 5,000 people and was well aware of the dangerous changes in the military morale.

If Zhong Yao had not quickly left Hongnong and went to Xinfeng City alone to stabilize the Huya Army, the 8,000-strong army in Weibei might have collapsed and disintegrated at any time.

The Tiger Tooth Army can capture Xinfeng in one battle, but the 8,000 troops on the north bank do not have this confidence, and naturally they are unwilling to confront the Tiger Tooth Army.

At that time, the army could collapse at any time. As long as the Hu Ya Army crossed the river, the 3,000 men led by Ma Chao would be defeated before the battle, followed by the 5,000 men led by Wei Ji.

Now that the two sides are getting to know each other better, most of the officers and soldiers on the North Bank already know that the main force of the Tiger Tooth Army is the Qingzhou soldiers captured by Black Bear... Therefore, they are even more reluctant to confront the Tiger Tooth Army.

How should I describe the reputation of Qingzhou soldiers in recent years? It is so powerful that it has shaken the world.

From Dong Zhuo to Li Jue and Guo Si, although they did a lot of bad things, they never organized a massacre in a city.

Even if they killed civilians, they would just plunder them as they passed by.

These people always regarded themselves as members of the imperial court and the masters of the flock, so naturally they were reluctant to kill at will.

Unlike Cao Cao, his two attacks on Tao Qian were both targeted killings.

If we count the time we attacked Lu Bu and the time we destroyed Pengcheng and flooded Xiapi, that was a total of three times!

In fact, many people from Qiaopei and Yanzhou soldiers were killed, but the Qingzhou soldiers had a bad reputation. They were reorganized from the Yellow Turban Army, so most of the blame was placed on the Qingzhou soldiers.

The Qingzhou soldiers were very powerful. After defeating Cai Mao, Liu Biao immediately adjusted his attitude and cooperated with them. Now that they had captured Xinfeng, the Guanzhong soldiers on the north bank were also weak.

If your reputation is used well, you can save yourself a lot of unnecessary things.

When it comes to getting involved in the underworld, the mainstream approach is to act like a pig pretending to be a tiger.

Anyway, Wei Ji felt that he should not return to his hometown or return to Xu Du now.

Look at how the Tiger Tooth Army broke into the city, and then look at how the fifty or sixty thousand Cao troops on the Liyang front line besieged the city.

Judging from the current offensive momentum of the Tiger Tooth Army, Wei Ji felt that Cao Cao would not be happy for many days.

Yesterday, Black Bear had already discussed the attack on Hongnong, and Zhong Yao did not dare to obstruct it.

The black bear has been galloping back and forth on the Weinan Road these days. Isn't it warning Zhong Yao not to do anything tricky and that he can return to Lantian at any time?
Probably before your North Shore troops surrounded Xinfeng, the black bear came back.

Xinfengdu is like this, not to mention Lantian Camp.

Therefore, Zhong Yao was completely defeated and had lost the opportunity to fight back and seize power.

As for the remaining 3,000 troops, it depends on when the other party will come to take over.

The reason for leaving it to Zhong Yao was to maintain his status as the Inspector of the Imperial Capital. Only with this status would the counties cooperate and continue to transport grain out.

Under such circumstances, it is normal for Wei Ji to want to change jobs.

Now there were only two of them fishing together, so he just asked. It was impossible for Zhong Yao, an old man in his fifties, to push a middle-aged man like him into the river and drown him.

Zhong Yao felt the wind was a bit cold after hearing this, and he straightened his collar and said to Wei Ji: "Yuan Tan left Qingzhou and was defeated in Hebei. Now he controls Hedong and Hongnong counties. How can he regain his former power in the short term? With the Tiger Tooth Army by his side, he has no chance. If he knows the current situation and uses his troops prudently, he can still stay in Hedong. If he is still ambitious, his brother will use a knife to kill people."

Zhong Yao looked back at the fishing rod. "As far as I know, when General Hei entered Hebei, he met with Yuan Shang with the intention of assassinating Yuan Tan to stabilize Hebei's inheritance. However, Yuan Shao repeatedly requested, and Yuan Shang could not make a decision. General Hei was worried about retaliation, so he kidnapped the two Yuans to escape. Now that Yuan Shao is dead, there is no one to protect him. If Yuan Tan commits a crime, he will definitely die."

He turned back to look at Wei Ji and said, "Since you have made up your mind, then wait for an opportunity to visit him. I think he is in need of people right now, so he will not refuse."

Seeing this, Wei Ji was still a little unsure about Zhong Yao's intentions. If Zhong Yao was really discouraged and gave up fighting for military power, then Wei Ji would naturally have no shortage of opportunities to advance.

This kind of thing couldn't be asked in person, so Wei Ji could only thank him again and again with a very sincere attitude.

On the other side, Black Bear galloped on his horse and caught up with Ma Chao when he was about to arrive at the Lantian camp.

I'm really worried that this guy, with two thousand soldiers from Guanzhong, will suddenly shout that the enemy is in Lantian.

However, the two thousand infantrymen led by Ma Chao were exhausted from the march and had lost their combat capability.

Seeing this, the black bear was relieved. He had worried too much before.

However, for Ma Chao in his youth, any defense was reasonable.

Only when Ma Chao is about to die, or when he is dead, does he become a good Ma Chao with a stable personality.

At other times, Ma Chao was too strong and the hormones in his body were fundamentally different from those of ordinary people. You cannot measure him as a normal person.

The mind is so changeable that it is impossible to guess.

It was only too late for me to realize it. If it had been someone else, he might have been killed by Ma Chao.

(End of this chapter)