He Bai burned all the siege equipment without leaving anyone else the opportunity to imitate it. He also loaded all the food and grass obtained in Xingyang City and transported it, and then led the army to retreat slowly. After hearing this, Hua Xiong immediately sent troops to reoccupy Xingyang City.

When He Bai arrived in Juan County, he turned to the south, passed Yangwu and went to Zhongmu. Sometimes a scout sentry sent a reply, saying that the city gate of Zhongmu was closed, and it seemed that officials were in charge of affairs. He Bai heard that the army had passed by Yuanwu. When Juan County, the officials had already fled, and the people had already gone to the wilderness or other counties, and Xingyang was even more empty. Unexpectedly, there were officials in Zhongmu County, and the county magistrate had good courage.

He Bai remembered that in the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the county magistrate of Zhongmu County was Chen Gong. He didn't know who Zhongmu County magistrate was after Chen Gong left. So after setting up camp, he sent an envoy to Zhongmu City to invite the county magistrate to come to the army to discuss.

Soon, the magistrate of Zhongmu County led two subordinates to come, and He Bai said, "I don't know what Zhongmu Order should be called? Before the front line between the east and west armies, you are fearless and insist on taking charge of Zhongmu City and appeaseing the people of a county. This kind of love for the people is very rare."

The magistrate of Zhongmu County bowed back with a trembling ceremony and said, "Thank you for your praise from General Zhaode. The lower official's name is Yang Yuan, who is from Taishan, Yanzhou. Dong Zhuo launched the first riot, and no one in the world dared to face him. At first, the lower official wanted to abandon his official position and flee, but fortunately, his subordinate Ren Jun, so Zhang Fen dissuaded me and asked me to be the magistrate of Henan temporarily and concentrate on dispatching troops from the ten counties in Guandong to fight against Dong Zhuo."

"It's just that the Xiaguan's morality and righteousness are insufficient. Except for the three counties of Yuanling, Kaifeng and Yuanling, the other counties have long fled. Now Xiaguan has only gathered two thousand people to protect Zhongmu, just to protect the country and the people."

He Bai had never heard of Yang Yuan's name, but had heard of Ren Jun's name. This was a big bull under Cao Cao's army. He was a real political master who ensured that Cao Cao had fought all year round and had no food and supplies. Compared with Cao Cao, his importance was no less than that of the five counselors and five good generals. Unexpectedly, he appeared here.

As a lord of a force, strategist is important, and generals are charged in the battle. However, it is also important to comfort the people, supply military supplies, and provide food and wages. Ren Jun is such a talent. It is forgot to be met before he meets it, but he cannot be given to Cao Cao easily when he meets it.

He Baixi asked: "Mr. Yang can rise up to protect the country and the people in the chaotic world. In the future, when the world is stable, it will be the day when Yang Jun is promoted. I hope Mr. Yang will give more suggestions in the future. By the way, I wonder if the nobles Ren Jun and Zhang Fen will come with each other?"

Yang Yuan said happily: "If you can get the general's approval, your subordinates are very comforted. The general is a well-known person in the world. How dare you be proud of the general in front of the general? Ren Boda and Zhang Zhongxiong also came with you, and were serving the marquis outside the tent at this time."

He Bai hurriedly asked someone to summon the two of them. One of them was a literati in blue clothes, with a smile on his face. He was about thirty years old, so he should be Ren Jun. One of them was a military general, and he was about thirty years old, and his face was brave. This was Zhang Fen.

Before the two of them bowed, He Bai stood up and bowed: "Now, wars in Sili and Yuzhou are everywhere. The 100,000 people in the four counties of Zhongmu, Yuanling, Kaifeng and Yuanling can be protected. After Yang Jun's words, thanks to the support of Zhang Erjun. The two kings are of great righteousness, please accept the worship of He Bai."

After saying that, He Bai bowed deeply to the two of them. The two of them were shocked and replied: "The general is so serious. We are all natives in Zhongmu. Isn't it my duty to protect the country and the people? How dare the general thank you?"

He Bai said: "Although I am the prefect of the foreign county, not the lord of Henan, my love for the people is not distinguished from each other and treats everyone equally. Now I heard that the two kings have preserved 100,000 people in the four counties. As the prefect of the court, I should respect the righteous people."

Then the two of them thanked He Bai for his respect. He Bai invited them to sit together, and then asked with a smile: "I came from the North Sea and worshipped the country for the great righteousness. Now I am going south to Yingchuan and fight with the thieves in Liangxian. But I am not very clear about the situation in Henan and Yingchuan. I want to hire two righteous men to accompany the army and counsel my military. I don't know what the two are willing to do?" After saying that, he smiled at Yang Yuan and said: "Yang Jun, Yingchuan's military situation is urgent. I believe you have heard of it. I hope Yang Jun should not blame him, don't blame him."

Ren Jun and Zhang Fen were both Yang Yuan's subordinates. When he heard He Bai's recruitment, he was unable to agree or refuse for a moment, so he had to look at Yang Yuan. Yang Yuan said hesitantly: "General, he is not a subordinate, but he is just guarding the four counties. He cannot do anything with Ren Boda and Zhang Zhongxiong."

He Bai smiled and said, "As long as I lead the army south, the four counties will be as stable as Mount Tai. I will not take one army or one soldier in Zhongmu, but only two soldiers to take the military. I think the relatively stable Zhongmu doesn't need two people to stay. If Yang Jun is still worried, please let me follow me. Can you keep Zhang Jun protecting the territory?"

Only then did Yang Yuan responded: "Well, I hope Ren Boda can put in some strength under the general's command."

He Bai was overjoyed and ordered a banquet to call three people. After the banquet, Ren Jun thanked He Bai and said he wanted to go back to the city to settle the family affairs. He walked with Yang Yuan. On the way, Ren Jun saw Yang Yuan reluctant to leave him and couldn't help but smile and said, "Mr. County, I wonder what kind of person do you think of General Zhaode and Prime Minister He Jun of Beihai are?"

Yang Yuan was stunned, thought for a while and said, "Although he met for the first time, he did not use his power to dominate others, was approachable, was kind to the people, and followed justice to attack Dong Zhuo. He should be a rare kind and gentleman in the world."

Ren Jun smiled and said, "That's true. Before, I heard that the military officer in the Xiyuan District, He Jun was kind and kind, and had the appearance of a gentleman. He was neglecting wealth and respecting the virtuous, and had the style of Mengchang. He was both civil and military, and he would have the talent of the three dukes and nine ministers, and he would have the highest position in the future. Now, because of the attack on Dong Zhuo, the world was in chaos, and the people of Henan had no place to go. The county lord has always said that he was not talented and knowledgeable, and he might not be able to take on great responsibilities. Now, He Jun came to attack Dong Zhuo according to the great righteousness. Isn't it the time to surrender to He Jun and join benevolence and righteousness?"

Yang Yuan was stunned and asked Zhang Fen again, "Zhongxiong, I don't know what you think of He Jun, are Boda's words good?"

Zhang Fen laughed and said, "Although the Sour Jujube Alliance said that he was following the righteousness, he occasionally saw the soldiers and horses of other counties in the coalition. He was unsuccessful in his efforts to fight Dong, but he heard about the affairs of the disabled people from time to time. He Jun had 30,000 people under his command, and he was also the best among the coalition troops. However, he had never violated the people along the way, so he could see the military management. Recently, there was no shadow of the Western Liang thief cavalry in the north, which showed how powerful his troops were. Therefore, Boda's words were deeply in harmony with my heart, but please make decisions early, so that tens of thousands of people in our four counties could not be harmed by the Western Liang thief."

Yang Yuan finally made up his mind and said, "Okay, please ask Boda to turn back to He Jun. Just say that my Zhongmu County is willing to respect He Jun as the chief. I will also try my best to persuade the other three counties to surrender to He Jun's command until the new Henan Yin sent by the court arrives."

Ren Jun bowed and said, "For such a big event, please go to He Jun's camp to discuss..."

He Bai was inadvertently surrendering to the four counties of Zhongmu, Kaifeng, Yangwu and Yuanling. It was a surprise that He Bai was able to have a temporary base area thousands of miles away from the North Sea and also had a lot of civil and material support, which was more pleasant than a great victory over the Xiliang Army.

After statistics, there were more than 130,000 people in the four counties and 45,000 strong men. Among them, there were 1,000 soldiers and 7,000 volunteers, which could support the 4,000 volunteer army, and about 100,000 stones of food and grass for He Bai's army.

He Bai could only express his gratitude to the Volunteers in the four counties. Even the Donglai soldiers who had not been trained by themselves, He Bai used them as baggage soldiers, let alone the Volunteers. However, He Bai thought that there were still many brave men in the Volunteers who could become middle and lower-level officers through training. So he selected 400 people to serve as military generals and led a first-level deputy officer to fight first.

With these four counties as the basis in Henan, it has eliminated the worries about food. Even if you cannot get food nearby Yuan Shu in Luyang, you can retreat to the four counties to rest in the city.

Leaving the four counties, to the southwest is Xinzheng, and to the south is Changshe of Yingchuan County. From a military perspective, going straight to the Lun clan can intimidate the key points of the Western Liang army, making the Xiliang army robbed east afraid of the severance of the retreat, and had to return to fight He Bai, which would determine the winner and lose.

However, from a political perspective, there are many talents in Yingchuan, and most of the talents under Cao Cao and Yuan Shao come from this. If we fight the Xiliang army in Yingchuan County and work hard for the people of Yingchuan, we will definitely win the favor of the scholars of Yingchuan.

If you try to recruit someone at that time, you will definitely get a lot of talents. The attack on Dong Zhuo is not necessary for He Bai, and military affairs usually have to be concessions for political purposes, so the previous strategic goals need to be changed.

He Bai then summoned the generals to make plans and said, "I know Yuan Gonglu in Luoyang. Although I am humble, tolerant and loyal, I sometimes ignore the overall situation. I have always known that the dispute between the legitimate and illegitimate Yuan family in Runan has reached a hot state. At present, our army has Yuan Benchu ​​as the leader of the alliance and must be deeply resentful of Yuan Gonglu. It is probably unlikely that our army will get food from Yuan Gonglu in Nanyang. Therefore, I want to adopt the step-by-step tactics and fight with the Xiliang army in Yingchuan County. I don't know what you have to think?"

The generals were surprised, and they didn't expect that Yuan would be so dirty in secret. Fu Xing asked hesitantly: "Yuan Benchu, Yuan Gonglu is a brother. This time, he is not only seeking Dong for the country, but also avenging Yuan's family. Will Yuan Gonglu be so unwise?"

Chunyu Qiong smiled and said, "Yuan Gonglu was arrogant and luxurious when he was young, but he was known as a hero when he became an adult. He was decisive, dared to take responsibility, and acted with great courage. When he was in Luoyang, Yuan Gonglu was also known as "Defending the Ghost Yuan Changshui on the Road"..."

"Wait." He Bai asked in surprise: "Yuan Gonglu is decisive and courageous, and dares to take on important responsibilities. When he was eliminated, the general was careless and died. Yuan Wei and Yuan Shao were trapped and waited for death, but Yuan Gonglu bravely advanced and led Wu Kuang and Zhang Zhang to attack the imperial city. But I went to Luoyang a little later. Even though I heard that Yuan Changshui, the defender of the road, thought it was a bad reputation, so how could it become a good reputation?"

Chunyu Qiong bowed and reported, "Lord, 'Defending the ghost in the road Yuan Changshui' means that even if you accidentally encounter a fierce ghost bullying in the road, Yuan Gaolu can quickly get rid of it. It means that Yuan Gaolu usually likes to be a chivalrous and righteous person, and can save people from danger, and is a hero in people's minds. This does not mean that Yuan Gaolu himself is a fierce ghost in the road. If it is other things, Yuan Gaolu must have helped with loyalty, but if it involves Yuan Benchu's affairs, it will be difficult to guess the result."

"I think that Yuan Gaolu doesn't go to the sour jujube to participate in the alliance, so I must be blamed for the princes who regard Yuan Benchu ​​as the leader. Therefore, the lord is worried about it. If we ask Yuan Shu to transfer grain to support us when our army is short of food, there will be a great disaster."

Huang Zhong said solemnly: "Since that's the case, to be on the safe side, it is the best strategy to take steps forward. However, this is the case, but I am afraid that the Xiliang army will not be willing to fight with our army, so I just guerrillas everywhere and specialize in our army's food routes, which makes our army fall into a mud pit and difficult to do."
Chapter completed!