The news of Tian Feng and Chun Yu Qiong's entire army being wiped out to Puyang. Xin Pi and Yan Liang were shocked, even more shocked than the crushing defeat by Jishui. After all, it was a natural disaster, which could be attributed to bad luck, but this was a real crushing defeat. Nearly 10,000 troops were wiped out within one day. Except for a few scouts who fled back, even a man with a certain identity did not escape. Tian Feng and Wen Chou were captured and Chun Yu Qiong was killed in battle. He was defeated thoroughly and completely.

Shen Pei, Tian Feng was the two most outstanding famous people among the people of Jizhou. He was outstanding in wisdom and reputation, and Wen Chou was also one of the best generals under Yuan Shao. Although Chunyu Qiong did not show any achievements in his military affairs, he followed Yuan Shao very early and was a trusted general of Yuan Shao. The three of them were defeated at the same time, and they were defeated by a side general with a reputation under Liu Xiu.

Xinpi and Yan Liang knew Xia Yu and Tian Yan, but they didn't know that Qu Yi and Xia Tian fought with them for many years, while Qu Yi was just a Xiliang man who was a lieutenant. This lieutenant was not Xia Yu, and a lieutenant like Tian Yan. For Tian Feng, what they wanted to know was Xu Rong, a general under Liu Xiu, who could lead the army alone, and people like Qu Yi who followed Xia Yu were not within their attention at all.

Who is Tian Feng? Who is Wen Chou? They will actually be defeated by such a person?

Yan Liang was a little depressed and didn't say anything for a long time. Xinpi pondered for a moment: "Zishan, since they have been wiped out, it doesn't make sense for us to stay in Puyang anymore. We should withdraw from Puyang immediately and return to Hebei."

"I don't want it back to Hebei?" Yan Liangrumo raised his thick eyebrows and asked in surprise: "This time I finally took Puyang and stood firm in Henan. It can be said that it was the only gain for the 80,000 troops to cross the river. Keep Puyang. I always have some face for the lord. There is a foundation for counterattack in the future, so I gave up. How can we convey to the lord?"

Xinpi smiled bitterly and shook his head: "Zishan, what else can the lord fight against Liu Xiu? Jizhou has a large population, and the lord also imitates Yizhou and Bingzhou implements the new policy. However, no matter how strong Jizhou is, can it be able to survive Jingzhou and Yuzhou? Tian Feng, Shen Pei, and Wen Chou have all been captured. Will the people of Jizhou still support the lord? Whether they can defend Jizhou depends on the lord's means. The counterattack is impossible at least in the short term. Jizhou has a sea in the east, Taihang in the west, and a river in the south. The only way to retreat is in the north. According to my estimate, the lord will move the center of gravity to Youzhou next to avoid the danger of being surrounded by three sides."

"You mean, the lord will no longer seek the world?"

"Do you think it's still possible?" Xinpi asked back.

Yan Liang pondered for a long time and didn't say anything. His heart was heavy. He was not from Jizhou. He was subordinate to Yuan Shao because he thought that the Yuan family, which had four generations and three dukes, could change the dynasty and he had the opportunity to become a founding hero. If Yuan Shao wanted to retreat to Youzhou and rule over the country from now on, would he still need to follow Yuan Shao to wander? He looked at Xinpi. Xinpi was from Yingchuan. Was he also making the same consideration?

Yan Liang didn't know how to speak, but these Ruying people were disagreeable. He couldn't believe them, and he didn't dare to offend them. He hesitated for a long time and swallowed his questions back.

"Under Liu Xiu's military use habits, he would not give up. The army would soon come to the city of Puyang. With the current situation of the lord, he could not take action to rescue Puyang. The military strategy is full of help, and it is useless to defend. Puyang has become an isolated city, and it is useless to defend. The most important thing at the moment is to retain some vitality for the lord, rather than spending it on Puyang, which is definitely unpreservable. The lord sent Chunyu Qiong and Wen Chou to pick up Tian Feng, just to save those people. Tian Feng and the others have failed, and we can no longer sacrifice the thousands of people in the city. Zishan, let's leave as soon as possible while Liu Xiu has not arrived. Otherwise, when Liu Xiu's army arrives and surrounds Puyang City, we will not be able to leave even if we want to."

Yan Liang nodded in agreement and immediately arranged for the evacuation of the people. They were just ready and someone came to report that Xia Yu and Cao Ren had arrived outside the city. They did not attack the city, but they firmly controlled the road to the floating bridge.

Xinpi and Yan Liang looked at each other, with more than 10,000 cavalry watching from the side. They didn't dare to leave the city at all, otherwise the road leading to the floating bridge would be the gate of hell, and they wouldn't be able to rush out alive.

"What should I do?" Yan Liang asked Xinpi.

Xinpi sang for a long time while twisting his beard: "First defend the city to see what changes."

Yan Liang's eyes rolled and he didn't say anything more.

Xia Yu rushed to the city of Puyang first. Not long after, Cao Ren also arrived. When he learned that Xia Yu and the others had wiped out Tian Feng and Chunyu Qiong's men and captured Tian Feng and Wen Chou alive, Cao Ren was so jealous that his eyes were almost green. He was ambushed by Tian Feng and lost thousands of war horses, but he was all cheap, but Xia Yu and the others picked it up. He suffered a loss. He was unwilling to accept it and wanted to seize Puyang and make another contribution to Cao Cao. Therefore, he suggested that Xia Yu not rush to attack the city, so as not to suffer too much casualties, but he urgently reported to Cao Cao, asking him to rush to Puyang before Liu Xiu. If possible, it would be best to capture Puyang before Liu Xiu arrives and take all the credits into his hands.

When Cao Cao received the report, he did not dare to stop for too long, and immediately led his army to outside Puyang City. However, he did not rush to attack the city. As a strategic location that he had controlled for many years, Puyang knew very well how difficult this city was and how much the price it would cost to attack strongly.

Cao Cao did not dare to do anything easily. He asked the emperor for help, asking the emperor to arrange reinforcements and recover Puyang.

...

"It's really better to change." Liu Xiu slapped the urgent report in his hand on the desk and shook his head helplessly. He originally hoped to wait until Gan Ning cut off the floating bridge before surrounding Puyang, but before the order could be sent out, the news of Xia Yu and his surrounding Puyang City had already been heard. Liu Xiu had no choice. He could order Xia Yu, but he could not order Cao Cao. Since he had already besieged the city, let's surround him. Although something unexpected happened, if Yuan's army in Puyang City was not allowed to escape, his goal would be basically achieved.

"The generals are very determined to compete for merit." Yu Fan reminded: "The general encourages martial arts, but the disadvantages have already emerged."

Liu Xiu smiled: "What's wrong with the soldiers fighting for merit? It's better than retreating one by one. If a scholar does not have a little outward mind, he can only see the world in front of him, what's the future."

"But general, don't forget that conquests require money. And they cost a lot of money. As the saying goes, even if the country is big, war will perish. No matter how effective the general's new policy is, one or two big wars will be enough to spend all his savings. How many years did Emperor Xiaowu fight with the Huns with his seventy years of accumulation? Duan Duan spent more than 4 billion in less than three years to conquer the Eastern Qiang, and the world wasted. General, you won't be unclear about this, right?"

Liu Xiu frowned slightly, and he knew that he would spend money on war. The reason why he refused to recruit a large number of soldiers was to consider this problem. Recruiting one more strong man, one less farmer, and one soldier needs to be supported by at least seven families. One more soldier is equivalent to the output of ten families. In addition, the consumption of food transported on the way was an astonishing number. The saying "Although the country is big, war will perish" starts from this point. It is not a manifestation of the savage war, but a sentence of a mature and conspiring country. Because there is another sentence after this sentence: "Although the world is safe, forgetting to fight will surely be

Danger." In other words, the ancients did not know the importance of force. They knew that a kingdom could not be without necessary arming. Even Confucius, who paid attention to benevolent governance, said that the three elements of national stability were "sufficient food, sufficient soldiers, and sufficient trust". "Zuo Zhuan" even said that "the major affairs of a country are only sacrifices and military affairs." Force is the basis of rule, just like the divine power, and it cannot be ignored. They just do not agree with the abuse of force, because abuse of force will consume too much wealth and put the country's economy on the verge of collapse. The rulers must seek a balance between belligerent and forgetful war.

There are countless examples of this. There were Qin Shihuang before, Emperor Wu of Han, Wang Mang at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, and Qiang Rebellion at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty, all of which were caused by the excessive use of foreign troops. In the late years of Emperor Wu of Han, prices surged, and the refugees who were forced to flee in various places could not afford taxes. If Emperor Wu of Han had not changed his course in time, the next Luntai crime was issued and he would have rested with the people, the Han Dynasty would have been likely to follow the footsteps of the Qin Dynasty, and Emperor Wu of Han was about to become the second Qin Shihuang.

Liu Xiu knew something very well, but he also believed that soldiers need to control their efforts to make a contribution, but it was much more real than scholars who were satisfied with talking.

"This matter cannot be clearly stated in just one or two sentences." Liu Xiu said cautiously: "Zhongxiang, whether Qin Shihuang or Emperor Xiaowu, their economic difficulties in the end were not only because of the use of troops. Of course, their use of troops was too hasty, which is indeed a reason that cannot be ignored - the luxury of the royal family is also an important factor. The money that Qin Shihuang and Emperor Xiaowu used to seek immortality, probably less than the use of troops. Duan Gong used 4.4 billion to pacify the Eastern Qiang, but do you know that these 4.4 billion have brought more than ten years of peace? Even if it was ten years, the spending of 400 million that year was 400 million, and how much does the royal family spend a year? 2 billion."

Liu Xiu was a little excited: "There are only a few people, one of them will cost 2 billion. Even if they can save 20% of the money, it will be enough to maintain enough border defense. Confucian scholars often focus on using troops. Why no one talks about the royal expenses? Even if someone says it, it just doesn't hurt to persuade a few clichés like frugality. What's the use? For the Qiang Rebellion, the court controversial court abandoned Liangzhou five times. Which one did it discuss to save royal expenses? No matter how important it is!"

Yu Fan looked at Liu Xiu in surprise, looked around, and lowered his voice: "General, do you want to reduce the royal expenses?"

"I do have this idea. I always feel that the uncontrollable waste of the royal family is more terrifying than using troops to the outside world."

"General, your idea is very novel. However, these words cannot be said to others."

"Why?"

"Because, the world belongs to the emperor, and only the emperor has the right to decide whether to reduce expenses. As a minister, you can suggest it, but not to decide." Yu Fan approached Liu Xiu and suddenly smiled: "The emperor said this, that is wise, and the minister said this, that is a great rebellion. If the general is not just, he will be dissatisfied."

Liu Xiu raised his eyebrows and was about to speak when Liu He's happy voice came from outside: "Dad, are you busy? I'm back."

Liu Xiu stood up, looked at Yu Fan with a deep meaning, and laughed loudly: "Girl, daddy is not busy, come in quickly and let dad see it."

———

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