Chapter 126 One after another
Duling City, in the past two days, the main force of the Tiger Tooth Army moved eastward to Xinfeng.

Therefore, some people in the city fled back to their hometowns, while others ran to the mountains to seek refuge.

The envoy of the Inspector of the Imperial Capital arrived here before Black Bear, so that Black Bear's punch missed.

Black Bear felt quite depressed when he saw Du Lingling Ling leading the officials and soldiers out of the city with the city gate wide open and kneeling in the middle of the road to apologize.

At this moment, the sun has set and the light is dim.

Maybe it’s because we’re about to enter August, but before it gets dark, there are gusts of cool mountain breeze blowing from the south.

The officials of Duling waited anxiously. Zhong Yao's messenger also said, "The former Jingzhao Yin colluded with the thieves, but the crime was not committed by the county officials. Now there is no solid evidence, and it is difficult for the local officials to prove their innocence. It is up to the general to decide how to select him."

Black Bear looked at the messenger and felt that this was a protest from Zhong Yao and the officials in Guanzhong.

His own army can break the city, and Zhong Yao's official documents can also break the city.

Especially after the former Jingzhao Yin was accused of colluding with bandits, the county governors of Jingzhao Yin were actually very vulnerable.

The basis for their holding office is the trust and authorization of the Xudu court, and now Zhong Yao represents the Xudu court.

"Since it is difficult to prove your innocence, I will temporarily send the army to supervise."

Black Bear didn't even look at the envoy's face, but turned his head to look at Wang Wei: "Wang Yingdu, you will concurrently serve as the Duling magistrate and lieutenant from now on. After taking office, you should focus on pacifying the people, but you must not be negligent. The Yuan family's envoys are traveling back and forth, and there are many local children among them."

As for matters such as the conscription of auxiliary troops and corvee labor, there was no need to discuss them in detail on the spot.

After Wang Wei had gained a firm foothold, he mobilized people for corvée labor using light physical labor, thereby keeping the young and strong population under control.

Wang Wei stepped out and bowed: "I obey your command."

Black Bear added: "Don't harass the people, don't drink during the military control period, don't ask for banquets, money or food from the local people."

"Here!"

Wang Wei agreed again, both to appease the people and to warn him to stay away from the local scholars.

Be careful not to drink together and end up losing your brain.

As Hei Xiong finished speaking, his personal soldiers stepped forward, took the seals from Duling Ling and Wei, and handed them over to Wang Wei.

Black Bear looked at the magistrate's subordinates, thought for a moment, and said, "You all come with me to Xinfeng. I will ask the Inspector General of the Capital to send someone to investigate you with me. This will not only eliminate the spies, but also clear your names."

These people looked stern and said yes one after another.

As long as the Inspector of the Imperial Capital sends someone to investigate together, they will not be wrongly accused.

Seeing no objection from the Zhong Yao messenger, Black Bear turned around and boarded the chariot: "Then let's go."

More than thirty officials from the Duling County government looked at each other and hesitated. Then they saw Wang Wei giving instructions and a dozen soldiers stepped out to drive them away.

These officials could only set out empty-handed, carrying their swords, accompanied by the county magistrate, while the county lieutenant walked alone.

The county magistrate and county lieutenant are all from other places, while the county government officials are all locals.

In addition, there was a local county magistrate who looked around at the dozen or so familiar faces around him and couldn't help but sigh.

The thirty or so people from the county government who were forcibly taken away were the elite population of Duling.

After getting rid of these people, Wang Wei, who is temporarily acting as the governor, can select a group of down-and-out scholars from the local area to act as the governor temporarily, and then the situation in Duling will have changed.

Envoy Zhong Yao watched all this and could do nothing.

Compared to the worst-case scenario, allowing black bears to grow bigger is already an acceptable outcome.

As a native of Guanzhong, the envoy was somewhat touched when he saw that the black bear did not even enter the Duling city gate and had to return to Xinfeng overnight.

At least this General Hu Ya is not greedy for pleasure, nor does he have the intention to trouble the people of Duling.

Those who were troubled were the core team of officials in this county.

As night fell, Black Bear's team of more than a hundred people held torches and slowly moved towards Xinfeng.

The vehicle bumped slightly, and the anger from Du Ji dissipated for the most part.

There are so many things I want to do, so don't rush now.

It is imperative to control the counties of Jingzhao Yin as gently as possible. This is an image project, to be done for the officials and people in other areas of Guanzhong to see.

As long as it does not affect the lives of the vast majority of people and can win battles against foreign enemies, most people in Guanzhong can tolerate it given the current mentality of the people.

After years of exile and suffering, who would be willing to leave their hometown unless there is any direct personal interest involved?
The most important thing is that Wuguan Road is already in his hands!
The people of Guanzhong had no other choice but to flee to Hanzhong.

After traveling all night, by the time they reached Xinfeng, many officials had blisters on their feet, and some had cold symptoms from the night wind.

At this time, the sky was getting brighter. After arranging to boil the ginger soup, Black Bear returned to the city wall to take some rest.

He preferred the narrow city tower to the relatively luxurious county mansion in the city. He felt safe sleeping there.

When he woke up again, he first looked through the military books he had accumulated.

Seeing that Zhao Yun and Sun Qian had arrived at the new Shangluo County and reunited with his Zhonglei Camp, he set off today.

Black Bear thought about it, then picked up a pen and wrote about the situation in Guanzhong to Yi Ji, Liu Qi and Liu Bei respectively.

In particular, the Yuan family's plan to support the emperor of Chang'an, Hei Xiong was not sure whether this plan was Yuan Shang's or someone else's.

Zhong Yao's words made sense. Judging from Yuan's past behavior, it was almost inevitable that they would get Chang'an to support the new emperor. This matter was too important, and Yi Ji and Liu Qi should have been informed. As for Liu Bei, if he really wanted to support the new emperor, he would not have allowed his good student Yuan Tan to capture Guanzhong.

Disrupting Guanzhong will prevent Cao Cao from obtaining talents and horses from Xizhou. Over time, Cao Cao's disadvantages will be exposed and will become more difficult to hide.

There are many sources of horses, but there are only a few fixed channels for them to enter the Central Plains.

Stuck on the western front, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry that Cao Cao is building can only become a monkey version.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were very important. If he wanted to advance step by step and trap Yuan Shang to death, he had to control a group of elite cavalry in order to counterbalance the Youzhou cavalry units that Yuan Xi had reinforced in the field battle.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry could not be formed, so when Yuan Xi led the elite cavalry of Youzhou to the south to relieve the siege, Cao Cao could only passively defend his camp and was unable to leave the camp to fight in the field.

As long as they fight in the field, they will be at a disadvantage; if they are defeated, the elite cavalry of Youzhou will chase them down.

No matter how many surrendered soldiers from Hebei were killed by Cao Cao back then, the elite cavalry from Youzhou would have been able to fight back.

For Liu Bei personally, he had deep roots in the Xudu court and could replace Cao Cao at any time.

He was not familiar with the emperor in Chang'an, and if the Chang'an court appeared, the harm to Liu Bei would be more obvious.

He would only consider other options if his hope of returning to the Central Plains was slim.

Besides, so many people followed him everywhere, and they had a breath of hope in their hearts. If they really turned to the newly established emperor of Chang'an easily, Liu Bei's subordinates would not mutiny, but their hope would be gone.

Therefore, it is highly likely that Zhao Yun's guest army can be trusted and used.

After blocking Yuan Tan's first wave of attack, Zhao Yun could return to Nanyang with the spoils.

After writing was completed, Black Bear personally made the mud seal and stamped it.

Several bodyguards brought the thick bone soup and wheat cakes. Black Bear stood on the parapet of the women's wall to eat, looking out at the scenery from time to time.

He developed too fast. Liu Ye and Xuan Liang, who used to eat together, both stayed in Nanxiang; Sima Zhi, the Shangluo magistrate who connected Guanzhong and Nanxiang, was directly entrusted with important tasks from a stranger.

I am not familiar with everything and need to get used to it.

There was also the Chief Clerk Chen Zhen and his battalion of soldiers, nearly half of whom were former members of the Yuan family. These people would rather leave Liu Bei and follow Chen Zhen.

It’s not himself or Chen Zhen’s charm and prestige, it’s Yuan’s influence.

Therefore, during the confrontation with Yuan Tan, Chen Zhen had to stay in Nanxiang.

Chen Zhen can distinguish the importance of things, but it is hard to say for Yuan's former subordinates.

If he stayed here, Chen Zhen would be among the top five; if a new emperor was established in Chang'an, Chen Zhen would be an insignificant figure in this huge system.

Hebei has accumulated so many highly qualified people. After the new court is established, these people will be the top people. How can there be a place for Chen Zhen?
After expelling Yuan Tan, establish a formal communication channel with Yuan Shang, and then let Chen Zhen lead the last households north.

This is how the world of martial arts is. One moment you're fighting Yuan Tan, while at the same time you're in contact with Qian Zhao via letters; the next moment you're chatting and laughing with Yuan Shang... This is all very normal.

The same is true for Zhong Yao. Before this person escapes from the crisis, he can be trusted temporarily.

As long as we can't kill each other on the battlefield, there is a need to keep in touch.

Perhaps Liu Bei and Cao Cao would occasionally send people to give each other some Shu brocade, snacks, and strange things.

While eating oatmeal cakes soaked in bone soup, Black Bear thought that he should have a few talkative friends around him, who could follow him around and sing and joke with him, so as to help him pass the time while eating.

Keeping a treacherous minister is probably just like keeping a pet.

But some people, while raising them, end up being controlled by flatterers or pets.

After thinking about it, Black Bear gave up the idea. He just had to wait for Zhen Mi to arrive, and then the meal would taste better.

While we were eating, we saw a convoy coming on the road from the east.

The convoy consisted of about thirty or forty vehicles, and was escorted by more than a hundred people, whose clothes were in a mess.

There is also a white cloth flag clustered around it, but its details cannot be seen clearly.

Soon, the knights on patrol outside the city came on horseback, climbed up the city wall, and presented a scroll of silk: "General Qu, you are sent by the Zheng Ling. I offer you food and fodder."

Black Bear opened the silk book and saw the seal of Zheng County Magistrate Li Xi at the end. The content was that he had received a message from the Inspector of the Imperial Capital last night. He suddenly realized that he had been misled by Zhang Shi and apologized for not being able to visit General Huya as soon as possible. He deeply realized his mistake.

So he first sent people to deliver the old grain in the treasury, and after he collected the new grain in autumn, he would personally bring the grain to apologize. If General Huya summoned him during this period, he would give up all his official duties and come to Xinfeng to pay a visit and apologize.

The content of the letter is very sincere and the wording is very humble.

If yesterday's Du Ji was standing with his hands on his hips, his head tilted back and his nose facing the sky, then this person was hunched over with his head lowered.

No matter how you look at it, there seems to be a problem.

Black Bear always felt that this person would complete the manpower mobilization when collecting autumn grain.

Collecting autumn grain is a large-scale task in the county. At the same time, farming has ended, and there is surplus and idle manpower, which is a good opportunity to mobilize and arm.

After thinking for a while, he smiled and said to the soldiers around him: "This is a good thing. Treat him well. Just tell him that I am very satisfied and let Li Xi come to see me today."

"Yes!"

The guards were also delighted that the locals were so welcoming and supportive, and their work was made easy.

Like yesterday, most of the accompanying soldiers were exhausted and were still sleeping soundly in the camp.

(End of this chapter)