Chapter 7: Wind and Thunder, Section 10

In late April, Cao Cao was restless at the news of the discovery of locusts in Dongping, and he hurriedly sent people to contact the officials of Dongping, Jibei, Taishan and other counties, asking them to do everything possible to harvest grain and prevent the spread of the locust plague.

According to past experience, locust plagues are bound to break out in April and May as long as there is little rain or drought in the following year after floods have occurred on both sides of the Yellow River, especially in Hebei, Yan, and Qingdao. This is related to the geology of the two banks of the Yellow River and the breeding characteristics of locusts, and there is no way to prevent it.

This year, due to the drought, many prefectures and counties in Yanzhou have given up spring plowing in April, and if there is another locust plague, the winter wheat that is about to ripen will be eaten up by locusts, and the number of hungry people will increase rapidly. The hungry people will not be given relief and will become displaced people, and the displaced people will immediately join up with the small Yellow Turban Army active in Taishan, Yuzhou and other places, and a new round of Yellow Turban rebellion will immediately be set off in various parts of the Central Plains**.

Cao Cao was heartbroken. The biggest reason for the failure of the coalition to defeat Dong Zhuo that year was because of the massive Yellow Turban Rebellion that broke out in Qingzhou, which lasted for two or three years and directly led to the collapse of the Han Dynasty. Today, when the coalition forces rallied again and were ready to turn the tide, God dealt them a heavy blow again.

If the sky wants to destroy the Han Dynasty, how can manpower restore it?

Cao Cao summoned Xun Yu, Cheng Yu, Mao Yu and other Yanzhou officials to discuss urgently.

A locust outbreak is inevitable, and in another ten and a half days, locusts may fill the sky of the Central Plains. Even if God opens our eyes and we can control the locust plague within a certain range, the manpower and material resources that Yanzhou has paid for this will be very amazing.

Once the locust plague spreads, the first to bear the brunt is the southern part of Jizhou, the northern part of Qingzhou and the northeastern counties of Xuzhou, and the Yellow Turban Guan Cheng and Guan Hai Department stationed in Mount Tai, and the Yellow Turban Wu Ba and Liu Pi Department active in the Jianghuai area will surely take advantage of the situation to attack and plunder the prefectures and counties again. As a result, the three alliances will suffer a major blow. In order to provide relief and fight the disaster and besiege the Yellow Turban Army, the three alliances seemed to have no choice but to give up the Northern Expedition to Li Hong.

However, the Northern Expedition has already begun, and the armies from all over the country are about to be assembled, and at this time it is obviously impossible to abandon the Northern Expedition because of a locust plague in the Central Plains, and the only way is to postpone the Northern Expedition.

In order to minimize the damage caused by this disaster, he could only ask for help from the states and counties in a low voice, and the main material for the help was food. As long as the victims can be fed and the hungry people are not turned into displaced people, the scourge of the Yellow Turbans can be controlled, and the Northern Expedition can continue after the locust plague.

At this time, the Northern Expedition was like an arrow on the bow, and the states and counties had no choice but to support it if they didn't support it.

At the court meeting, Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, Yuan Shu and others stared at each other, completely unexpectedly that when the Northern Expedition was about to begin, the Central Plains would have a locust plague.

The shadow of the failure of the crusade against Dong Zhuo is still shrouded in everyone's hearts, and everyone suddenly has an ominous premonition.

"Prime Minister, have you inquired about the matter clearly? It can't be alarmist, right? Yuan Shu asked with a suspicious expression, "If you don't want to crusade against Li Hong, say it as soon as possible." I'll do you, the prime minister, and I'll take someone to fight. ”

Cao Cao didn't bother to pay attention to him, and turned his face to look at Yuan Shao, "Lord Yuan, the Northern Expedition must be postponed." If the rear is not stable, this battle has not yet been fought, and we have already lost. ”

Yuan Shao thought for a long time.

"The troops still rushed to the south bank of the Yellow River at the scheduled time." Yuan Shao said calmly, "We can postpone the attack, but we must be prepared for the Northern Xinjiang Army to cross the Yellow River south and attack the Central Plains when the locust plague breaks out in the Central Plains." ”

In addition, although the troops of the various units of the Northern Expedition Army were assembled relatively quickly, the grain and grass of the various units could not be transported to the south bank of the Yellow River before the end of April due to various reasons. So our attack at the end of April was supposed to be postponed. Now that a locust plague has broken out in the Central Plains, I think it is better to postpone it for a while longer, and set the time for the attack at the end of June. We can use these two months to make more adequate preparations for the attack, such as the stone throwing vehicles used for the siege of the city, the Wuhan Iron and Steel chariots used to block the iron cavalry charging formation, the rafts used to cross the river, and other ordnance such as ballistas and sharp arrows, all of which are transported to the Yellow River battlefield as much as possible.

After Yuan Shao finished saying this, Cao Cao and Liu Bei were overjoyed, and Liu Biao also let out a long breath.

Yuan Shu was also very happy and raised his hand in agreement. By June, if the Yangzhou army won a complete victory in the Jiangdong battlefield, the Yangzhou army could go north and join the northern army to defeat Li Hong.

Cao Cao sneered, "As long as your army stays in Jiangdong honestly, even if you make a contribution to the Northern Expedition." ”

Yuan Shu scoffed, "Don't forget, it was me who entered Luoyang back then, not you." Did you break into Luoyang? I remember that you seemed to have been beaten by Xu Rong and fled. ”

Cao Cao was so angry that he was about to scold when he opened his mouth.

Taifu Liu Pet grabbed him, "Talking about business, it's important to get down to business." ”

The original attack time of the Northern Expeditionary Army was too hasty, and it was too great to lose too much damage if it rushed to Jizhou to fight in such a hurry. Now with two more months to prepare, the situation is very different.

In recent years, the Central Plains has suffered from wars and disasters, and its vitality has been greatly damaged, although it has improved slightly under Cao Cao's efforts, but the results are not very significant. In this Northern Expedition, Yanzhou mainly sent troops, and the grain of the Yanzhou army was mainly supplied by Xu and Yang. Therefore, the biggest impact of this locust plague on the Northern Expedition was not the supply of grain and grass, but the Yellow Turban Rebellion that might arise from it in the rear.

In order to prevent the recurrence of the failure to fight against Dong, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Biao and others immediately discussed and decided to requisition all the victims of the disaster in the Central Plains as their husbands and transport grain and grass to various grain routes. On the one hand, it can solve the problem of feeding the victims and prevent them from becoming displaced people, and on the other hand, it can also allow the people in Jing, Henan, Yang, Xu and other places to avoid the pain of long-distance travel, killing two birds with one stone.

Cao Cao mentioned a possibility at this time, if the locust plague is serious, Jizhou may also be affected. Once Jizhou is affected by the disaster and the food drops sharply, the Northern Xinjiang Army is bound to be unsustainable.

Generally speaking, the Central Plains was affected, and Jizhou on the north bank of the Yellow River would definitely be affected, and Cao Cao's guess was correct.

Yuan Shao and the others suddenly became excited, "Urgently inform the affected counties and counties to block the news of the locust plague." The troops that have already reached the south bank of the Yellow River were ordered to step up inspections and strictly prohibit anyone from smuggling into Hebei. ”

Liu Bei hurriedly returned to Xuzhou to arrange disaster prevention matters. Cheng Yu, Man Chong and other Yanzhou officials rushed to several counties and counties that might be affected by the disaster, and while directing the people to grab grain, they began to recruit the victims to serve as wartime people. Cao Cao was also anxious to write to Tian Kai, asking him to pay attention to the direction of the flow of locusts and take precautions as soon as possible to avoid disasters.

In mid-April, Handan, the general marched.

Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, Wei Jun, and Liu Ming led the army to Handan.

Li Hong personally went out to greet him.

The four generals dismounted and greeted him. Li Hong helped them up one by one, and just wanted to say a few words of greeting, but Liu Ming spoke first. "General, we have brought you the most precious gift."

Li Hong was stunned for a moment, "Gift? What gift? A warrior in the court or a horse on the grassland? ”

"Haha......" Zhao Yun, Jiang Wu, and Wei Jun laughed at the same time. Liu Ming scratched his head and asked in surprise: "General, is it possible that in your heart, there are no other gifts in the desert except for invincible warriors and vigorous war horses?" ”

Li Hong stretched out his hand and punched. "What a good gift, show it to me."

Wei Jun raised his horsewhip and waved it behind him. "General, what do you most want to see right now?"

Li Hong watched the columns of iron horses separate from them, and couldn't help but shake his head and smiled: "You guys, what are you doing?" ”

"Tell me, what do you most want to see?" Liu Ming suddenly stood in front of Li Hong and covered his sight, "Say it quickly, say it quickly, you won't have a chance to wait a minute." ”

Li Hong looked up at the blue sky and suddenly remembered the wind and snow. Before he left the desert, he promised Fengxue that he would pick her up as long as the snow on the desert melted, but he lost his word. He hurried to Jizhou, having forgotten the oath he had made to Fengxue.

"I want to see Madame, can you do it?" Li Hong looked at Liu Ming, and then turned his head to look at Zhao Yun who was standing beside him.

Zhao Yun smiled slightly, bowed down and said, "As you wish." ”

Li Hong's heartbeat suddenly became violent, he looked at Zhao Yun in disbelief, and then suddenly turned his head to look at Wei Jun.

"After the deliberations of the kings of the desert, Madame was taken to Huoyunyuan by Kirby Xiong and Que Kun, but when you left, you told us that as long as the snow on the desert melts, you will let us take Madame back." Wei Jun touched his thick long beard and said with a smile, "Yan Wuxing personally rushed to Huoyun Yuan to pick up Madame, and sent Madame to Wuyuan. ”

Liu Ming smiled frustratedly and retreated to the side, "That Yanshan bird is not wrong at all, for the general, the most precious thing in the world is Madame." ”

White as snow.

Feng Xue stood in the middle of the iron cavalry warriors, stretched out his hand and gently lifted the white veil under the bamboo hat, and smiled at Li Hongyan.

At this moment, Li Hong was intoxicated.

The news brought by the wind and snow made Li Hong feel the threat from the Northeast Frontier.

The climate on the desert is getting colder and colder, and the Hu tribes on the desert continue to move south, and many Hu tribes have gradually accepted the rule of the Han people.

Kirby Bear has grown up and is ambitious, and this young Xianbei warrior has the heart to rebuild the glory of the Xianbei people. The Eastern Xianbei Lord Mica is old, and he is ready to merge the Eastern Xianbei into the Central Xianbei to help Kirby Xiong rebuild the Xianbei royal court.

The Han people's military force in northern Xinjiang is getting stronger and stronger, and the Han people are competing for the desert, and the Xianbei people have no confidence at present, so Kirby Xiong turned his attention to the Buyeo country.

Fengxue has a special affection for Buyeo Country, she doesn't want Kirby Bear to take the Xianbei Iron Horse into Buyeo Country, she wants to help Buyeo people continue to live a peaceful life.

"Big Brother Leopard, you can stop Kirby Bear." Feng Xue snuggled in Li Hong's arms and begged in a low voice, "Are you willing to help Buyeo?" ”

Li Hong was silent.

Kirby Bear has grown up, and the tiger kid has finally become a warrior of the desert. Murong Feng is Murong Feng after all, and the person he likes will definitely become a powerful figure in the desert. Li Hong remembered the scene when he first met Kirby Bear. At that time, Kirby Bear did not thank himself for saving his life, he shouted at himself, I will definitely kill you. Perhaps, this is the reason why Kirby Bear can become the new king of the Xianbei people. There is no fear in his heart, he only has the courage to move forward, just like his past self.

"Is it your fellow disciple or the envoy of the Buyeo Kingdom who came with you?"

"Master Changfeng has a respected status in the Buyeo Kingdom, and many of his disciples are the kings and grandsons of the Buyeo Kingdom, so they ......"

Li Hong nodded, "They hit a wall with the Xianbei people, and then they will go south with you immediately, Kirby Xiong must know about this." Are you too presumptuous? ”

"You're worried that Kirby Bear blames me?" Feng Xue snorted dissatisfiedly, "If he dares to fight Fuyuguo, I will immediately go back to Huoyunyuan to settle accounts with him." ”

Li Hong laughed, "You first rest in Handan for a few days, and then take the envoy of the Buyeo Kingdom back to Jinyang to meet the Son of Heaven." Her Royal Highness the eldest princess and the court will handle this matter properly. ”

"What about you? Don't you care? ”

"In the third year of the first emperor Xiping (174 AD), the Fuyu State sent an envoy to Luoyang to ask for belonging to my Han Dynasty, and the first emperor let it be subordinate to Xuanfu County in Youzhou." Li Hong said softly, "If the Buyeo State still recognizes its own status, then the Xianbei people beating the Buyeo State is equivalent to beating my Han Dynasty, and of course the court will not sit idly by." ”

"Really?" Feng Xue said in surprise, "Great, I'll call them to Jinyang right away." ”

"You're not going with them?" Li Hong asked in surprise.

Fengxue hugged Li Hong, "You want to drive me away?" ”

Li Hongxi smiled, "Of course not......

When the wind and snow arrived in Handan, many generals from northern Xinjiang also arrived in Handan one after another, Li Hong was very happy, and specially summoned the generals to Xingyuan to discuss matters and gather by the way.

Gongsun Chan and his son Gongsun Xu also rushed to Xingyuan.

Li Hong and his wife, Li Yi, Zhang Yan, Lu Bu, Zhao Yun, Yan Liang, Jiang Wu, Zhang He and other generals from northern Xinjiang came out to greet them.

Gongsun Chan was grateful, and his words were quite touching. The opponents on the battlefield back then have become ministers of the same palace today, fighting for the same Zhongxing Han. Tian Kai and Liu Bei, who sacrificed their lives to save themselves on the battlefield, have become enemies who swear to fight to the death today.

At the banquet, Li Hong talked about the past. When I was in Youzhou, I once said that I wanted to invite Brother Bo Jue back for a drink, and today I finally got my wish. Gongsun Chan felt very uncomfortable, with mixed feelings, and didn't know what to say.

Lu Yi first drank a lot with Gongsun Zhan, and then went to find Lu Bu, Wei Xu and others to accompany him, and everyone laughed and hated. Wei Xu teased Lu Yi, we are all martial artists, licking blood with knives, this grudge is nothing, but you have offended a lot of people in the court, these people are very vicious, and sooner or later they will make trouble for you, adults themselves should pay more attention. Koji Yi glared at him, and said indifferently, I'm afraid of a fart. It's a big deal that after the war, I pat my ass and go home, I can't afford to provoke me and I can't hide?

After the wine court dispersed, Li Hong specially invited Gongsun Zan to his military tent to catch up with the past.

Gongsun Zhan first said a few words of gratitude, and then changed his words and begged Li Hong to transfer him to the rear to supervise the transportation of grain and grass. I really can't fight this battle. Jump to