Since Wen Zhao decided to withdraw his troops, he did not continue to delay, and the army retreated directly from the west of Yuanwei to Chencang in Youfufeng County.

This time, the 80,000 troops of Guanzhong went on an expedition to Liangzhou, plus the soldiers and horses brought by the surrender of Yang Qiu and Ma Play, totaling 100,000 people.

Later, due to the emergence of the 'Qiang Killing Order', the Wolf Qiang led by Zhang Liao, as well as the Qiang people under Yang Qiu and Ma Wan, rebelled, and all were killed.

In addition, the battle with the Western Liang army lost more than 10,000 people, and later Chen Xu only had less than 70,000 soldiers and horses left in Liangzhou.

The six counties in the eastern part of Liangzhou were initially decided, plus the Qiang people in the frontier and Ma Teng were not destroyed. Therefore, in addition to the counties and counties that should be recruited, Chen Xu also left nearly 30,000 horses and horses, which were stationed in various places.

The generals who commanded these soldiers and horses were Fan Chou, Yang Ding, Ma Wan, and Yang Qiu, who were familiar with the military affairs of Liangzhou.

Now, Wen Zhao only led 40,000 soldiers and horses to retreat to Chencang, and then let the army enter the city to rest.

After entering the territory of Sili, although the weather is still cold, it is much warmer than Liangzhou.

In Chen Cang, Li Ru gushed endlessly: "Now that the right wind is calm, and the eastern counties and counties of Liangzhou are all included in the lord's bag, the importance of Chen Cang is much inferior. ”

"It is foolish to think that it is enough to retreat the army stationed here, and then condemn the generals to camp here."

In the past, the princes of Liangzhou were entrenched in the east of Liangzhou, and Yang Qiu's sphere of influence included the western part of Youfufeng. At that time, Chencang, as the western gateway to Chang'an, forced Wen Zhao to send Zhang Yan to lead troops to be stationed here.

As Li Ru said, Chen Cang is now surrounded by Chen Xu's territory, so the importance of this place has been greatly reduced.

After pondering for a while, Wen Zhao spoke: "In this case, only one thousand county soldiers can be stationed here in the future. ”

Everyone discussed some military affairs again, and Chen Xu suddenly picked up a letter about the battle situation in Liangzhou and said: "According to the detailed report, Ma Teng set up a Hongmen banquet to kill Han Sui, and then led the army to raid Han Sui's camp. ”

Caught off guard, the leaderless Han Sui army was defeated, and the vast majority of them surrendered to Ma Teng. Han Sui's commanded general Yan Xing led more than 100 people to break through and disappeared. ”

Chen Xu's words made everyone a little stunned. In fact, even he himself felt incredible.

Han Sui in history has the title of 'Jiuqu Yellow River', even Jia Xu, Li Ru, and Sima Yi, who set up a discordant plan, never thought that they could kill Han Sui with a discordant plan.

In the eyes of everyone, that strategy can separate the relationship between Ma Teng and Han Sui, which is already very good. Han Sui was killed, which was a complete accident.

The butterfly effect is so terrifying, and with Chen Xu getting it, many things have changed.

"Ma Teng is a man without a plan, since Han Sui is dead, Ma Teng is difficult to support alone, and sooner or later he will be captured by me."

Chen Xu was extremely excited at this time, and he was somewhat jealous of Han Sui, a warlord who had been in trouble in Liangzhou in history. In the past, in the process of confronting the Xiliang Army, there were many strategies of the Guanzhong Army, which were all seen through by Han Sui.

As Wen Zhao said, if there is no Han Sui, Ma Teng will not be afraid. In the future, it will be much easier to pacify the four counties of Liangzhou and Longxi.

After the discussion, Chen Xu seemed to have some worries. Sima Yi followed beside him and asked softly, "Han Sui is dead, why is the lord still worried?" ”

Wen Zhao replied: "Han Sui was killed, and I was naturally happy in my heart. However, after Pang Lingming left the Ma Teng camp, he became nowhere to go. ”

Speaking of this, he sighed heavily and laughed self-deprecatingly: "I thought that if Ling Ming and Ma Teng were separated, he would come to me." Now it seems that it is a little self-righteous. ”

Sima Yi comforted: "Pang Lingming doesn't have a good impression of the lord, but since Ma Teng believes that he has surrendered our army, if Pang De comes to vote at this time, won't he confirm this kind of remarks?" ”

"I foolishly thought that Pang Lingming did not come to the lord for the first time because he cherished his feathers."

When Chen Xu heard this, he was stunned and said, "But I don't know when I will be able to meet Ling Ming again." ”

In February of the third year of Jian'an, Chen Xu, who was on an expedition to Liangzhou, finally led an army of 40,000 to return to Puban. After returning to Beijing, the Son of Heaven rewarded Wen Zhao for his merits, and also rewarded the meritorious soldiers.

After returning from the expedition, Wen Zhao and the soldiers were naturally overjoyed, and after dealing with some urgent matters, Chen Xu was impatient to go home to live with his wife and children.

Even the non-commissioned officers in the army have a rotating vacation to go back to see their families.

At the gate of the courtyard, eleven-year-old Chen Jun and ten-year-old Chen Ting were pestered by Dianman, asking him to tell about his experience on the battlefield.

The three of them grew up together since childhood, and in front of Chen Jun and Chen Ting, Dianman naturally did not have any restraints. He patted his chest and blew it up.

"Ma Teng's father and son won the championship of Liangzhou, and although his nephew Ma Dai did not win the championship, he was also a tiger general. On that day, the Xiliang army came to the city, and the generals on both sides killed in the dark, and the sun and moon were dark. ”

"Just when the battle was deadlocked, a young general suddenly jumped out of the Xiliang army, and he actually named and named General Lu."

When Chen Jun heard this, his little face turned tiger, and he immediately scolded: "That young general is extremely rude, he actually dares to challenge his grandfather, he really doesn't know whether he is alive or dead!" ”

Xiao Chen Ting also said: "Grandpa is the first brave general under Ah Weng's account, how can an unknown junior be able to challenge?" ”

The relationship between Zhang Ling, Zhao Yu, and Lu Qiling is extremely close, and although the children are not Lu Qiling's biological children, they all call her 'Grandma'.

It is natural that Lu Bu, who is Lu Qiling's father, will be called grandpa by the children.

Dian Man's eyes widened, patted his chest, and said: "Yes, that guy is so rude, General Lu's reputation for bravery is the best in the world, even Ah Weng doesn't dare to say that he can defeat him." That kid challenged General Lu, and he really didn't know the sky. ”

"At that time, I was furious in my heart and shouted, 'Kill chickens with a knife, Chen Liudianman came to take your life'. Then, I rushed directly into the battlefield and fought with the young general for 300 rounds. ”

Dian Man's eyebrows fluttered when he spoke, and the two little guys were also fascinated by it, but they didn't notice that Chen Xu didn't know when he came behind the three of them.

Stopping the pro-soldiers who were about to salute at the door, Wen Zhao listened with interest to the nonsense of the sea kan. It's just that Dian Wei beside him has a dark face.

"Ma Dai slashed at me, but before the blade arrived, the blade had already torn my cloak. It's too late, it's fast, a certain dantian is angry, and a loud shout shakes away Ma Dai's sword......"

Hearing this, Dian Wei's face had completely darkened. He stepped forward and grabbed the collar behind Dianman, and scolded: "Daomang, that's not what you say!" ”

Dian Manzheng was talking about it, and suddenly he was mentioned in mid-air, and he was immediately furious and scolded: "Which turtle grandson dares to provoke me? ”

When Dian Wei heard this, he was about to explode his lungs, and scolded: "Dare to scold Nai Weng, it's really a big rebellion, see if I don't kill you today!" ”

found out that he had scolded his father, and Dianman suddenly became so desperate that he didn't dare to speak.

The turmoil caused by the big words did not last long.

Chen Jun and Chen Ting, two little children, naturally said good things for Dianman. Chen Jun, a naughty little guy, even hung on Dian Wei and pulled off a handful of his beard to calm down the turmoil.

Wen Zhao couldn't help but laugh secretly in his heart when he saw Dian Wei's bitter face and touching his chin with pain.

"Where's Zheng?"

didn't see Chen Zheng, Wen Zhao was a little puzzled.

Chen Jun raised the beard he had grabbed in his hand, and said triumphantly: "Big brother, he went to find Ah Yi, what kind of knowledge do you want to discuss with him, it's really boring." ”

Wen Zhao smiled, stepped forward and pulled Chen Jun's face, and said, "You kid, you are not allowed to grab Uncle Dian's beard in the future!" ”

Chen Jun rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, okay." ”

For his naughty son, Wen Zhao sometimes feels a little helpless. Chen Jun promised well now, and when he turned around, his true form would be revealed.

In the past, he also liked to pull off Wen Zhao's beard very much, but after his little butt was beaten a few times, he naturally didn't dare to act like this anymore.

However, Dian Wei has always doted on Wen Zhao's three children, and every time Chen Jun pulls off Dian Wei's beard, Dian Wei only pretends to cry out in pain, but he is not angry in his heart.

This made Chen Jun a little more intensified, and he was not afraid of Dian Wei at all.

Without paying any attention to Chen Jun, Wen Zhao turned his head and said to Dian Wei: "Since Ah Zheng is not here, let's go back to the General's Mansion first." ”

After the New Year, Chen Zheng was already eleven years old, although in the eyes of modern people, the age of eleven is still an unscrupulous child. However, in ancient times, some men could marry at the age of twelve.

Chen Zheng, as the eldest son of the Chen Group, is naturally the object of Wen Zhao's special training, and with his eleven-year-old age, it is time to take him with him.

Therefore, after discussing with Chen Qun and the others, Wen Zhao was ready to take Chen Zheng to his side and exercise him well.

Leaving the house, Wen Zhao sent two personal soldiers to Sima Yi's residence to summon the two.

As soon as Wen Zhao returned to the General's Mansion, he heard Zhang Yu's voice: "The lord went to lead the army on an expedition to Liangzhou, and the war lasted for nearly half a year, consuming countless money and food. ”

"Although the wind and rain were good last year, there is not much grain and grass in the treasury now. What if there is another emergency? ”

Since Changyu predicted the drought, his position in the Chen group has increased significantly over the years. It can be said that if it weren't for Changyu's reminder, I'm afraid that Chen Xu would have become hungry all over the place in the past few years.

After this large-scale drought and famine, the rest of the princes' territory was more or less affected. Especially under the rule of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao, countless people died of starvation.

On the contrary, although Wen Zhao has lived a little tight in the past few years, there are basically no fewer people who starve to death. Not only that, but Guanzhong also poured in a large number of displaced people from other places.

Among the princes in the world today, only the people under Wen Zhao have the largest number. It may not be good to see it now, but as the war progresses, the demographic advantage will slowly become apparent.

A large part of the credit for all this belongs to Changyu. Therefore, Wen Zhao was also very relieved and asked him to assist Chen Qun in managing logistics.

With a frown, Wen Zhao slowly walked in and asked, "The grain and grass in the treasury have been consumed again?" ”

When everyone saw Chen Xu coming in, they hurriedly stepped forward to give a salute. After the ceremony, Sima Lang said: "Although there is still some surplus grain in the treasury, it is only enough to support the harvest of grain. ”

"During this period, if a war breaks out or there is a famine, it will make Guanzhong food scarce again."

It's February, and it will take at least two months to harvest the grain, and in some areas of the north, the harvest will be even later.

After thinking for a while, Wen Zhao said: "Since this is the case, let the government buy grain from surplus families on the one hand; On the other hand, it was economical and it was forbidden to make wine. ”

Chen Qun, who was in charge of political affairs, remembered Wen Zhao's instructions and said: "Due to the emergence of the 'Qiang Killing Order', many people among the people have obtained knighthoods for their merits. As a result, many bandits and rogues have become good citizens. ”

"Although this move has played a very big role in calming down the Qiang trouble, it has also put a lot of pressure on logistics."

"According to incomplete statistics, 500,000 stone grains and grass are needed to pay the annual salaries of these people with titles every year. And as more and more people get their heads by killing the Qiang, the government will need to pay more food. ”

A knighthood is not only an honorary title, but also has practical benefits.

Although the lowest-ranking duke can only receive 50 stone per year. However, because there were too many people who killed the Qiang people, there were countless people who obtained the title of duke.

For many people, this title is a fictitious title, but even if it is a fictitious title, the government has to pay a fee.

If you follow the algorithm of one Qiang head and one public scholar, I am afraid that the government only pays these people every year, which is an astronomical amount.

In fact, there are many people who have killed more than one Qiang person, and they have accumulated military merits in order to improve their titles. In this way, the burden on the government is reduced.

According to the regulations: beheading the first level can get the title of duke, beheading the fifth level can get the knighthood, and beheading the tenth level can get the title of hairpin.

For the public servants, the government had to pay fifty stone per year; For Shangzao, it is necessary to pay 100 stone per year; For hairpins, they only have to pay 150 stones.

If ten Qiang people's heads are replaced by ten public soldiers, the government will have to pay 500 stone of grain and grass every year; If the head of a Qiang person is exchanged for a hairpin title, the government only needs to pay 150 stone of grain and grass a year.

In this way, for the government, it is hoped that the people can gather the heads of the Qiang people together in exchange for higher titles.

Wen Zhao pondered for a long time and said: "The government must not lose its trust to others, since they have been given titles, they must naturally be given corresponding treatment. ”

"In the short term, it may put a lot of pressure on the finances; However, these expenditures were somewhat insignificant compared to the huge amount of wealth spent each year by the imperial court to quell the Qiang rebellion. ”

"This matter should not be sloppy, Hugh will chill the hearts of the Qiang warriors."