Just occupying a city and plundering its property and resources is actually not difficult, and you can directly suppress it with force.

This is how Wang Zheng in Qingzhou quickly accumulated the capital to start a business.

But managing a city is completely different.

It is no easy task to make the city prosperous, where the people and merchants live and work in peace and contentment, and continuously provide nutrients for the growth of the ruler's ambitions.

There is much more work to be done.

Wang Zheng had such expectations for Linyi, so he could not let those officials and wealthy gentry who knew the situation escape from his control.

Donkeys who work for the family cannot be beaten without whipping, let alone whipped only.

So this time, after Linyi was captured, Wang Zheng not only chose to calm the people as soon as possible, but also did not kill these rats or ransack their homes. He even cleverly concealed his disdain and patiently chatted with them.

It wasn't until the smile on his face became a little stiff that he saw Xu Fangshi in military uniform walking towards him. Wang Zhengcai was overjoyed and quickly handed over these people and other chores to his confidant.

...

Of course, although Wang Zheng regarded the land under his feet as his own, he had no intention of staying in Linyi for long.

The location is inappropriate and the scale is even more inappropriate.

Before coming, he had discussed it with Yu Jin and other generals.

The so-called sword dance in Xiangzhuang is intended to be performed by Peigong.

The reason why the troops are strategically divided is because the other three county towns must be opened up, and Linyi is because it is close to Kaiyang, where Langya County governs.

In such a central hinterland, no matter whether it is besieged or conquered, Kaiyang will never sit idly by and ignore it.

This is the only way to save the enemy!

Once Kaiyang sends troops and generals, considering the distance between the two cities, it will probably take five or six days to arrive.

Thinking of this, Wang Zheng stared at the map on the wall with burning eyes.

The time left for home is actually not too abundant.

However, through the battle in Linyi, Wang Zheng also roughly understood the enemy's situation.

Xuzhou soldiers, or the military force responsible for the defense of counties and counties in the state...

It's really average.

The strongest enemies we faced along the way were none other than the Yanzhou elite led by Jin Niugai, followed by the Linzi city defense soldiers under Li Jiayuan.

As for Linyi... I wonder if it is because the people in Langya County have a comfortable life and lack of war training. In Wang Zheng's opinion, the enemy's combat strength level in this battle may be slightly inferior to that of Zhaoxian and Guangrao last year.

But now his army is far superior than before.

Therefore, even though he learned from the county magistrate and others that the Kaiyang City defense army numbered approximately 10,000 people and had excellent horses and bows, Wang Zheng was not afraid at all.

There is no doubt that the victory is certain, but it is not clear how many troops the governor of Kaiyang will send to rescue Linyi...

Because the prefect was also a new appointee, and the county magistrates did not know his personality and behavior, it was naturally impossible for Wang Zheng to guess from it, so he could only make rough inferences.

It is absolutely impossible for ten thousand people to come out in one fell swoop. If you have a fierce and decisive personality and want to accomplish all your achievements in one battle, it is possible for four to five thousand people... or even six to seven thousand people.

No more... the possibility is slim.

However, Wang Zheng was accustomed to thinking about defeat before thinking about victory in everything, so he considered the worst case scenario.

If there were seven thousand people... he pondered.

This time Xu Fang was eager to join him, so he came first with a thousand people. When the two parties joined together, the total was only three thousand.

Linyi has just been captured, and some troops still need to be stationed to prevent anyone from plotting evil.

If this is the case, the maximum number of troops we can use this time is only 2,500.

With the power of the system's blessing, the odds of winning are naturally still high, but it should be a tough battle.

Xu Fang and Wu Sheng, who had just finished handling the matter, walked into the study room at this time. After the three of them discussed for a while, Wang Zheng nodded lightly, then walked forward and tapped his halberd finger on a certain part of the map on the wall:

"Then choose this place!"

...

The Heavenly Army rested for a while, and before the rooster crows every day, in addition to leaving Xu Fang and 500 Tiangang troops to garrison, Wang Zheng took more than 2,500 Heavenly Army troops to leave Linyi under the still dark night.

In addition to maintaining the stability of the rear, there was another more important reason for keeping Xu Fang in Linyi.

Wang Zhengyao's thoughtful Xu Fanglai presided over the next "Talent Seeking Order".

If you are looking for talents, you are looking for literati.

Most of the Heavenly Army are illiterate, and those who have read are even rarer.

But whether it is the logistics management of the army, making suggestions, or handling the government affairs of the counties under one's own rule in the future, literacy is required.

After asking Xu Fang to draft it, Wang Zheng looked over it and nodded in approval, but added, "Only those who are talented can do it, and I will use it."

That was the sentence that Cao Cao would use to seek talents in the future.

After several cities were captured, Wang Zheng also understood the lethality of his identity as a Yellow Turban bandit.

There is no hope of "seeking talents" for the time being. Most Confucian scholars think they are noble, so you can't force them to serve you at knifepoint one by one, right?

In this case, I only seek talent, not virtue, right?

He just said directly that the general doesn't mind if some people are talented but not moral!

Wang Zheng didn't expect it to be effective as soon as it was issued, but in Linyi, the first city to be captured in Xuzhou's base area in his heart, it was the right time to make such a gesture.

It also sends a signal to some potential people.

That's a villain who doesn't care about fame or even reputation being ruined, and is only greedy for fame and wealth...

It's okay, I don't dislike you.

For the time being.

...

On the third day, Wang Zheng and Wu Sheng led their army to a village.

Mou Tai.

Except for Pengcheng State, the entire territory of Xuzhou is considered to be flat and plain.

And the distance between Kaiyang and Linyi, which are already very close to each other, is even more vast, and there is no terrain suitable for an ambush.

Therefore, after discussing with Xu Fang, Wang Zheng chose to artificially create a place for a surprise attack.

It is Mou Tai.

Mou Tai is somewhat similar to Yunting.

Although it is called a village, because there is a salt mine to the east, commerce and trade are developed, and its population and area are actually close to the level of a small county town.

Of course, compared to these, its defensive capabilities are completely consistent with the village level.

There were only two to three hundred local militiamen. With a wave of Wang Zheng's hand, the heavenly army captured the place immediately with just one charge.

In order to prevent the news from leaking out, Wang Zhengxian arranged for the more than 2,000 villagers to be driven towards Linyi.

Mou Tai was chosen, in Wang Zheng's eyes, because it was right next to the nearest official road between the two cities.

More importantly, it is much closer to Linyi than to Liyang.

According to common sense, when Linyi County Lord sent sentries to Kaiyang to ask for help the day before yesterday, the city had not been breached yet.

Therefore, the news that the Kaiyang people got was that they were under siege. Under such a situation, the Kaiyang people who were eager to put out the fire did not dare to delay. Once the army set off, they would naturally rush over without stopping.

By the time we get here, we are not far from Linyi. Unless the commander is too careless and doesn't know how to fight, he will most likely choose to take a short break to restore the strength of the entire army, and then attack the thieves besieging Linyi in one go.

And once the opponent comes here to rest, it will be the time for the heavenly army to launch a surprise attack!

At that time, he led a thousand men and horses from the Tiangang tribe to confront the opponent head-on. The Tianzhu camp and Wu Sheng were lying in ambush nearby and stood still for the first time.

When the opponent sees that their numbers are at a disadvantage and they are yellow turban bandits who are notoriously incompetent, they will face the enemy head-on.

When the two sides reach a stalemate, let Wu Sheng lead the Tianzhu Battalion to attack from behind to completely block their retreat.

Once a pincer attack was formed, Kaiyang's defenders became a turtle in a jar.

And the strategic goal of annihilating the enemy is basically within sight.

“This is a really good idea”

After listening to Wang Zheng's analysis, Wu Sheng scratched his head and looked around. Seeing that the soldiers were busy setting up in the village, he muttered:

"only..."

"Azheng, as the commander-in-chief of our heavenly army, why do you always have to personally take risks?"

As Wang Zheng fought all the way, Wu Sheng also had a first glimpse of military strategy. Even his words of advice had new words, which were different from what he said last year.

"There's no way." Seeing this change, Wang Zheng smiled happily and rarely explained:

"There are more than 3,000 of us who cannot form a complete encirclement. If we want to annihilate them all, we can only move dangerously."

Although caring can lead to confusion, after hearing this, Wu Sheng endured it and stopped trying to persuade him.
To be continued...