Chapter 148 Pressing forward step by step

After finishing his government affairs, Black Bear headed for Chang'an.

Only when Lu Bu follows him around can he have the highest mobility.

Climbing up the Chang'an city wall again, Black Bear looked at the migrating team on the Lantian Road.

Wang Yi's migration team has begun to split up. It is not possible to see the details from a distance, but Wang Yi seems to have really divided it according to the agreement of most and most.

The so-called majority means too much or most, specifically referring to two-thirds.

After taking away two-thirds, they took away the remaining two-thirds, which meant that Wang Yi’s wealth and the size of his army were reduced to one-tenth!

Considering Jia Kui’s performance twice, this man must have really screwed over his former master Wang Yi.

But what Jia Kui said made sense. Wang Yi's armed forces could not protect the property.

During such chaotic times, everyone is seizing the opportunity to show off their skills.

After looking to the east for a while, the black bear collected his thoughts and ignored it.

He led Lu Bu around the city wall to observe the city, then went around to the west wall and looked at Huaili in the distance.

After investigating the abandoned pavilions and settlements around it, the black bear evacuated to Xinfeng.

It was already afternoon when he arrived at the northern camp of Mount Li.

The Qingzhou soldiers were incorporating the Hu cavalry volunteers, slaves, and a large amount of property that had been separated from Wang Yi.

Each cartload of valuables had its own account book. When the black bear arrived, Guo Tai was leading his men to check the gold and silver utensils, lacquerware, and silk fabrics carried on each cart according to the account books.

Guo Tai asked his Taoist priest to continue the inspection, and hurried over to meet Black Bear, whispering, "General Qu, the wealth of Wang Yi is no less than 200 million yuan."

"So many?"

Black Bear was also shocked: "Didn't Cui Yan know about this?"

"I think Cui Yan should know about this. If it weren't for Jia Kui and others' persuasion, Wang Yi would have died sooner or later because of these properties."

Guo Tai said in a normal tone: "Nominally speaking, Wang Yi has maintained peace in Hedong for more than ten years. Cui Yan will not force him too much."

"You are right. This man is a breath of fresh air in this chaotic world. He may not be able to bring peace to the world, but he can maintain peace in one area. Compared to human lives, this little money is really insignificant."

Black Bear turned his head to look at the rolls of silk being inspected, and said to Guo Tai, "Winter clothes are being made in Lantian. Tomorrow, five thousand soldiers from Guanzhong will set out for Xinfeng and bring in the winter clothes. The winter clothes must be ready by nightfall, and you will follow me to Chang'an the day after tomorrow morning. I will have a meeting with Ma Teng."

Guo Tai thought after hearing this: "Does the commander want to show his military prowess to Ma Teng?"

"Well, Ma Teng is old, and there are many ambitious people among his former subordinates in Liangzhou."

Black Bear looked back at Guo Tai's face and said, "After the winter clothes are distributed, roll them up and carry them on your back. Wear them when you get to Chang'an. I want to use this brand new military look to shock Ma Teng."

"Yes."

Guo Tai agreed and pointed at the carts of valuables and asked, "What are you going to do with these, Commander Qu?"

"Do you have a good idea?"

"I dare not. I think we can buy the heads of the Weibei group of generals with a large sum of money. One thousand gold per head, four thousand gold can do the job."

For a reward of about four thousand gold, the territory and population obtained were almost dozens of times more than four thousand gold.

"I have already made a plan. If the alliance can help Ma Teng step down, I will send troops to Weibei. The soldiers in Guanzhong lack experience in major battles, and the battle in Weibei is just right, neither too big nor too small."

Black Bear blinked and smiled: "Your suggestion is not bad. If Ma Teng is still determined to fight me, then use this batch of money to buy the heads of Ma Teng, Li Kan and others."

"Master Qu is wise."

Guo Tai flattered him, and then he heard Black Bear say: "Gan Xingba has made many contributions before and after he followed me. I have discussed with him and plan to count his contributions before and after the New Year and reward him together. I am very pleased that the Qingzhou soldiers can reform themselves. If the officers and soldiers in the camp have any wishes or calls, you should not be shy and tell me. I will do my best to help them achieve their wishes."

As he spoke, Black Bear walked towards the northern camp of Mount Li, and Guo Tai quickly followed.

Guo Tai was also aware of the current difficulties in financial operations. Due to the lack of sufficiently reliable grassroots officials, all kinds of property and valuables were only stored in the warehouse and not transferred or distributed.

Officials involved in logistics worked hard to transport grain and fodder to ensure a stable and fair supply of food.

Are valuable items of any significance to the Qingzhou soldiers?
Guo Tai thought for a moment, then organized his words and said, "General, you were born a seven-foot-tall warrior, and you will die in the dirt. We are not greedy for money or fancy clothes. If you can teach us the true scriptures, we will die without regrets."

Fearing that Black Bear would refute, Guo Tai immediately said: "The soldiers in the camp have repeatedly repented, and most of them do not like the name of Qingzhou soldiers. Around mid-October, all the soldiers in the camp will be able to shave their heads. By then, I beg the commander to grant us a new name."

"I will think about this seriously."

Black Bear then said: "After the conquest of Weibei, I hope that the various tribes can take turns to garrison Weibei. After the winter, the northern Hu people often invade us, although they are scattered and not on a large scale. But if we capture their people, they will become our people, and we cannot leave them alone."

Guo Tai immediately said, "I am willing to obey the commander's orders."

"Well, there are currently 31 teams of 100 men in the camp. I think the troops and young men handed over by Wang Yi are 700 to 800 strong. You can recruit 500 more people to fill the 36 teams of 100 men. This is the standard. This time, 28 teams will be sent to conquer Weibei, and 3 teams will stay behind to train new soldiers."

"After the war, six teams formed a battalion, which was divided into six battalions, and then divided into three shifts, taking turns to garrison Weibei."

Black Bear looked back at Guo Tai and said, "I heard that the climate in Guanzhong is quite different in winter, but Weinan is better. After all, our army is new here and we lack experience in winter cold protection. I hope you can mobilize the soldiers to store more firewood. Also, when building the camp, we must fully consider windproofing and keeping warm."

"Thank you for your concern, Commander. I will inform all the troops tonight so that the officers and soldiers can think about it together."

"The only thing that can slow us down now is the weather. The only things that can defeat us are food and the cold winter. I must tell you this again and again. If anything goes wrong, all officers and above will be beheaded."

The black bear stopped and looked up at the Mid-Autumn afternoon sky.

If the army suffers large-scale frostbite or freezes to death due to insufficient preparation, I will regret it.

But I have repeatedly warned my subordinates that if they don't respond actively, they must be killed afterwards. If I don't kill them, how can I lead the army in the future?

The bottom line of the military is very cruel, that is, the orders of superiors are above everything else.

Guo Tai had no doubt about this, and he also roughly understood that for someone who was about to freeze to death, eating fairy peaches... would probably be useless.

Seeing Guo Tai's stern expression, Black Bear immediately said: "In winter, I will be stationed in Weibei. After we survive this winter, we will be able to restore the pass next year."

Guo Tai nodded seriously. If all the Black Bears went to Weibei to guard the border, there would be no fluctuation in the morale of the Qingzhou soldiers.

The fluctuation here refers to the decline.

As far as Guo Tai was concerned, he felt that the morale of the Qingzhou soldiers had reached its peak and could not be raised any further.

Probably only cold and hunger could defeat them; as for diseases and the like, Guo Tai no longer took them seriously.

This year is too tight. After preparations in spring, summer and autumn next year, we will be able to prepare enough supplies for the winter.

After parting with Guo Tai, Black Bear led Lu Bu on a quick ride to meet Gan Ning.

As long as he and Lu Bu can appear in Tongguan and Huayin regularly, they can effectively warn Linghu Shao.

Huayin City continued to be dismantled, and all the construction timber that could be removed was transported to Tongguan.

Anyway, Huayin’s autumn grain has been stored in the warehouse, and whether you work or stay at home, fixed grain consumption is unavoidable.

Mobilizing manpower to dismantle the city now is nothing more than physical labor that requires extra food.

Gan Ning can bear these losses.

When the black bear came, Gan Ning was supervising work in Huayin City.

In fact, the construction timber that can be transported away only accounts for a very small part of the total timber, and most of the timber needs to be burned in one fire.

It was not that they were afraid that Yuan Tan would use the wood to build fortifications, but that they did not want Yuan Tan to burn the wood for heating.

In winter warfare, cutting off the enemy's fuel supply can directly strike at and weaken their morale.

It is said that the north was warm before the Qin Dynasty, but no matter how warm it was, the latitude was still the same.

The only difference is that the Bohai Sea is larger, the estuaries of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River are closer to the inland, and the warm and humid air currents brought by the sea water in winter can counter the legendary Siberian cold current.

Even so, people can still freeze to death in winter, let alone this cold period.

Black Bear couldn't imagine how ruthless Cao Cao was that he could fight a decisive battle with the Guanzhong coalition forces led by Han Sui and Ma Chao in winter.

Perhaps Cao Cao's troops had no shortage of cloth and leather, and everyone could wear many layers of clothes to effectively resist the cold.

As for myself, I have been troubled by the headache of keeping the troops warm and resistant to the cold in winter.

As long as the army was stationed and immovable, they could easily resist by relying on barracks, fire walls, kangs and fuel. But in a field battle, they lived in leaky tents, had no braziers, and fuel was also scarce. How did Cao Cao fight in history?

The problem now is winter cold-resistant clothing, and the quickest solution is a leather robe.

Even if the pig skin is peeled off, it can still resist cold and keep warm after tanning.

Therefore, before the weather turns completely cold, they must eat up the Weibei generals so that they can seize the leather clothes of the enemy's troops; only in this way can they ensure that the field troops can resist the cold and naturally they will not be afraid of any winter harassment from Han Sui.

The people in Weibei were unstable when they first settled down. What they feared most was harassment and destruction without any bottom line, which might come from the various Hu people in the north or from Han Sui.

People like Han Sui are much more terrifying than Ma Teng.

The black bear only showed up in Huayin and then took Lu Bu on a detour through the southeast of Mount Li and returned to Lantian.

When we came back, it was already late.

Wang Yi's team, which had completed its extreme weight loss, also arrived at the Lantian camp and set up camp outside the camp in a circle.

Maybe they were very tired from going up and down, and when it got dark, most people, except the guards on duty, huddled in their tents and fell asleep.

The black bear that circled Mount Li found it difficult to fall asleep.

He gave Zhen Mi a severe lesson, but he still couldn't sleep.

The alliance with Ma Teng was extremely important, and the subsequent series of wars were related to whether it would be possible to capture Guanzhong with its vitality relatively intact.

Zhen Mi came back from a simple bath and saw Black Bear sorting out the scraps of bamboo paper and bamboo slips in the rattan box. She couldn't help but sigh, "My dear, if you value others, you will belittle yourself. The gains and losses of the world cannot be changed by one person. My dear, you have already put in all your efforts. Why do you belittle yourself like this?"

"I also want to be heartless."

Black Bear closed the rattan box, turned around and lay on the couch, looking at the gauze curtain: "My utilitarianism is still too strong."

It was not utilitarianism at all, it was clearly his conscience that urged him to end the war as quickly and lightly as possible.

But once the war starts, how can we go along with people's wishes?
Zhen Mi didn't think too much, she lay on her side, and diligently covered them with a thin silk quilt: "I think my husband is too worried. If there were a real hero in Guanzhong, why would it be divided for several years without a hero?"

"You are right. There is a powerful leader in Guanzhong. I have no chance of a successful sneak attack."

Black Bear said this and truly closed his eyes, fatigue quickly overwhelmed his consciousness.

In terms of damage, the Weibei Campaign that he initiated and organized should have been definitely less than the Guanzhong coalition forces led by Han Sui and Ma Chao.

Thinking of this, the pressure of conscience gradually dissipated.

No matter how bad the situation is, how bad can it get in our hands?
(End of this chapter)