Chapter 12 Three, under the city

The north, west, and south sides of Xincheng County are surrounded by rivers, and this deep moat is drawn from the Han River in the north of the city.If anyone wants to deal with the moat of an ordinary fortress with a cart, it is almost impossible! The only thing beyond the east wall of this city is a flat and wide land road.It is the only passage connecting the inside and outside of the city, and it is also the most likely "entrance" for the enemy to enter the city.After Meng Da learned that the secret of his incident had been leaked, he immediately dispatched the county captain Deng Xian and Tuntian school captain Cheng Ke to lead 5,000 soldiers to work outside the east wall day and night, and set up antler fences layer by layer for the purpose of protecting the city. .

"The stumps should be cut thicker next time—these ones won't work! Replace them immediately! At least as thick as the mouth of a barrel!" Deng Xian rode a bay red horse under the scorching sun while inspecting carefully Wiping the hot sweat off his face with his hands while working on the fence fortifications, he yelled at the engineers from time to time, "Have you ever seen how powerful the 'thunderbolt chariot' of the Jingzhou soldiers is? That year, my captain was ordered by the prefect Meng to come here. Dangyang County assisted Xiahou Town to attack Jiangling City in the south——Ah! What a guy! Cheng Ke—I’m afraid you haven’t seen it before, the stones thrown by the ‘Pili Chariot’ are as big as a millstone! Those sea bowls of Wu Jun’s The thick fences were smashed to pieces!"

"Don't worry, Lieutenant Deng—According to Cheng, no matter how powerful the 'thunderbolt car' is, I'm afraid it won't be able to transport it to our rugged and steep mountains and old forests!" Cheng Ke walked side by side with him, saying Li said, "Cheng has also seen that 'Thunderbolt Chariot'! It is more than 20 feet high under the city wall, which is as high as the city wall... How much manpower will it cost? The horses can only be transported to this deep mountain and dangerous place!" "Cheng Ke! It's a bit wrong for you to say that - as the saying goes, 'Be careful when sailing for ten thousand years.' Since we are going to fight to the death, we should be 'not afraid of ten thousand, just in case'! If Sima Yi's old The boy really disassembled the 'Thunderbolt Chariots' and dragged them in one by one, so what should we do?" Deng Xian didn't like his subordinates to do things in a sloppy way, so he refuted them as soon as he opened his mouth, and the corner of his eyes flickered , pointing to the side with the horsewhip in his hand, "Come over here—use hemp rope to tie these antler fences more firmly, how can they be loose like this?"

He hadn't finished speaking when he heard a sharp sound of "swoosh" coming from mid-air. There was a slight explosion of "Bo", and he narrowed his eyes, only to see a spiked arrow as thick as a thumb flying from afar, and it was nailed to the eye of his horse, which was exposed outside the armor: the shaft of the arrow It penetrated more than three inches into the horse's head!The scalding blood splashed all at once, and a few points even splashed on his cheeks! The bay red war horse covered in armor let out a scream, raised its front hooves, and kicked its hind legs wildly—Deng Xian yelled, but was knocked off by the horse, and with a "plop", it landed on the hard yellow ground. He fell so badly that his eyes stared at gold stars!When he managed to get up, his horse slowly fell to the ground with a whine, twitching and gradually becoming stiff...

"There is an enemy sneak attack!" Cheng Ke shouted in a drake-like voice, clamped his horse's belly, and led a group of cavalry to rush forward, "Quick! Quick! Quick! Everyone, fight back!" He hadn't rushed fifteen feet forward when there was a rush of hooves galloping, and an unarmored white horse suddenly rushed out from the billowing dust and smoke! There was no one on the horse... When Cheng Ke was in a daze, a red-tasseled long spear rushed out from the lower right abdomen of the white horse, turning into an arc of silver light and passing by—Cheng Ke felt a chill on the side of his neck, and then a burst of hair burst into flames. The unrestrained heat stream poured out from the neck.With the rapid gushing heat, Cheng Ke could only feel that the heat and strength in his whole body were rapidly losing... He tugged on the rein unsteadily to try to stabilize his figure, but no matter how hard he tried, it seemed to be of no avail and he swayed After a few shakes, he fell off the horse with a bang!

In Cheng Ke's last glance before he fell to the ground, what he saw was a tall figure in white robe and silver armor, standing awe-inspiringly on the back of the ownerless white horse he had just seen! "Niu Jin!" Deng Xian could see clearly from behind - this white-robed general was indeed the well-known Xiangyang prefect Niu Jin! What made him even more unbelievable was that the young general in black who followed Niu Jin with a six-foot crossbow in his hand and shot his horse to death with an arrow was actually at the neighborhood fair in Xincheng County a month or two ago. Zhou Tai, a young merchant selling ironware in the city!

Deng Xian gritted his teeth, and was about to raise his sword and order the army to prepare to resist.He raised his head, and suddenly saw the "Wei" flags rising straightly from the mountains and jungles opposite, waving in the air, swirling one after another, as if a black cloud rolled up—— I don't know how many ambushes were hidden in the mountains and plains! "Ah! Something is wrong!" Deng Xian turned around, snatched a mount, and galloped back towards the east gate of the city as fast as he could - he galloped his horse and hissed loudly: Quickly close the antlers and close the city gate—the enemy army is coming..."

As soon as he took the lead and ran, how could those soldiers under him risk their lives to obey the order to "close the antlers"?They all abandoned their fortifications one after another, and fled as if they were running away after his horse... Zhou Tai slowly put down the six-foot crossbow, looked at their backs contemptuously, said "Pooh", and said, "It's really useless!" Antler Fence, with a slight smile, turned his head to Niu Jin and said, "Meng Da is really interesting—he actually prepared all the wood for us to set up a camp..." "Don't think that you can really scare Meng Da and the others just by planting a few flags and pretending to be 'suspect soldiers' in the jungle! They will definitely fight back when they wake up!" Niu Jin said on the horse. There is always such a cold and solemn expression on the back, "You go to the back immediately and send a thousand soldiers up, bring fire, oil, smoke, etc., and set all these antler fences on fire. We can't rush out! Let's not act rashly, wait until all the follow-up troops of the army have arrived... Don't forget the secret order of Sima Dadu before his departure, 'Don't be afraid of bandits fighting, only worry about bandits fleeing; seal their way out, Catch the turtle in the urn'!"

Zhou Tai's expression froze, and he replied solemnly: "Yes!" Two days later, on the morning of the eighth day after Meng Da wrote the letter to Zhuge Liang, Sima Yi led an army of 50,000 men to the city of Xincheng County! A deep and deep sound of horns sounded slowly from the ranks of the Wei army, followed by waves of deep sound echoing from all directions, surging and continuous, as if lingering around the entire city. Horseshoes bursting, dust flying—under the radiance of the morning glow, groups of cavalry rushed forward like torrents, and then merged into one, forming a surging ocean!

In the "ocean" composed of soldiers of the Wei army, towering "thunderbolt cars" and ladders slowly approached - behind them were rows of iron-clad cars shaped like one-horned rhinoceros. Follow along. Facing such a mighty and majestic Great Wei Wangshi, Xincheng County seemed to have become a lonely boat, tottering in the boundless and turbulent waves! On the podium of the Dongcheng Building in Xincheng County, Meng Da held the scabbard tightly in his right hand, biting his cheeks bulgingly, watching the enemy army below the city from a distance, his eyes were full of horror——Sima Yi and his soldiers and horses It was really unexpected that he got under the city so quickly!

In his field of vision, a large black flag was slowly raised in the bright forest of knives and halberds, with the word "Sima" embroidered on it, and it was flying in the wind like a lion. rise!Needless to say, the group of flaming red riders standing under the big banner must be Sima Yi without a doubt! Of course, Meng Da couldn't see Sima Yi's expression at this moment, but he could already imagine that Sima Yi must have a deep smile on his face - that kind of smile must have been the one he had seen in Changle Palace before. Bitter contempt!When Meng Da thought of this, he couldn't help gritting his teeth "boom boom", wishing he could grab a crossbow arrow and shoot him dead! "Little Liang Ji! How dare you follow your master to deceive me! I trust you so much thanks to me!" Meng Da was so angry that he had nowhere to vent, so he turned around viciously, staring at the podium's side pillar, who was caught on the podium. Liang Ji, who was tightly bound, stomped his feet and cursed, "Sima Yi is really deceitful, hateful and hateful! You...you are still laughing! Still laughing! I am going to cut off your head to sacrifice the flag for the three armies!" Liang Ji looked at Meng Da being so angry that he was so ugly, he withdrew the slight sneer on his face, looked at him sternly, and said coldly: "Meng Da——you don't want to be stubborn anymore! Hurry up and tell Sima Da Surrender, Commander! Otherwise, once the Celestial Army attacks, your entire city, the army and the people will all be crushed!" Hearing this, Meng Da was furious, and like a mad dog whose tail was stepped on by someone, he jumped up and punched Liang Ji on the cheek, and at the same time shouted sharply: "You kid, how dare you speak hard when you are about to die! Let me turn you into powder first!" Liang Ji's face was turned to the left by the "bang", and a mass of bruises appeared immediately - he turned his head slowly, and coldly gouged out Meng Da, who was stern and inwardly, and said "Bah!" With a bang, he spit out a mouthful of saliva with traces of blood! Meng Da was even more furious, and he pulled out the precious sword from its sheath and was about to cut it off--at this moment, Li Fu shouted "No way", and hugged him from the side! "Go away! I'm going to kill him!" Meng Da yelled angrily while struggling violently. "My lord, calm down! My lord, calm down!" Li Fu hugged him desperately and refused to relax, "This man can also be called a righteous man who regards death as home and fulfills his mission! It is useless to kill him at this moment, but it will be called indiscriminate killing of a righteous man—why not?" Let's learn from the way the Huns imprisoned Su Wu and take him into custody for the time being!" While persuading him, he cast a wink to the side—a few soldiers came up and hurriedly pushed Liang Ji down! When they were arguing, there was a sudden "boom", which was almost deafening-then there was a violent tremor on the wall and floor tiles under their feet!Li Fu let go of Meng Da at once, cast his eyes to the city wall, with a look of horror on his face, and muttered: "He...they started to attack the city!" Meng Da stood still, and couldn't help shivering suddenly, the hairs on his body stood on end - this moment has finally arrived! At a glance, I saw "Thunderbolt Chariots" more than 20 feet high gradually approaching under the city - and then I saw their giant racket sticks raised together, and boulders weighing 30 to 40 jin were like boulders. Like a thunderbolt from the sky, it was thrown violently and flew towards the tower! "My lord, be careful!" Following Li Fu's shout, two personal soldiers jumped up in response, raised their huge shields and blocked Meng Da's body. "Bang bang" there was a loud bang, big stones poured down on the corridor of the tower, and the stone chips that were launched flew all over the sky, as powerful as iron bullets! Meng Da hid under the cover of the shield, listening to the screams of the soldiers who were hit by the gravel, his heart tightened: this Sima Zhongda really came prepared!Even heavy ordnance such as the "Thunderbolt Car" has been used-the situation in Xincheng is really dangerous!Dangerous!It seems that I have to ask Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun for help as soon as possible! While he was making calculations in a hurry, the field suddenly fell silent again!All of a sudden, under the east city wall, everything stopped suddenly! Meng Jun was inexplicably startled, when he suddenly heard a rustling sound like buzzing in the sky, filling his ears! As soon as Meng Da cautiously poked his head out from behind the shield, he suddenly felt his face turn cold, and a gust of wind rushed towards his face—he shrank his neck in a hurry, and with a sound of "whoosh", a crossbow bolt was close to his chest The cheek brushed, blood slipped down, and immediately felt a burning pain on the face piercing through the heart!He couldn't help stretching out his hand to cover it and screamed! "General Meng, lie down!" The guards turned pale in panic, rushed over, pinned him to the ground, and used their own strong bodies to protect Meng Da! When Meng Da was still in shock, he heard a series of "tap-tat-tat" sounds, and thousands of ladders were set up on the top of the city wall! Then, the tremors on the top and bottom of the tower became more and more intense——Wei Jun's giant iron-shelled vehicles covered with rawhide smashed through the rows of antler fences outside the east city wall one after another, and slammed straight towards the city gate. Come.The thick Dongcheng gate was hit so that it made a "creaking" sound! "Hold it! Hold it! Hold it for me!" Under the protection of the bodies of all the soldiers, Meng Da stretched out his head and shouted in a panic, "Don't let any of them enter the city!" On a hill outside the east city wall, Sima Yi stood on his horse, overlooking the surroundings.Niu Jin, Zhou Tai, Cao Zhao, Sima Shi and other generals lined up on both sides like wild goose feathers, standing on his left and right.And two feet away from their horses, there are 400 guards with bright armor and shining spears.Under the hill, arrows rained one after another, and the flames were soaring, swallowing clouds and covering the sun—it turned out that the Wei army was still attacking Xincheng County without stopping! Sima Yi watched all of this quietly, calm on the surface, but his heart was as rough as the Han River in the distance - he had led the army to storm the city for seven days and seven nights, and Meng Da and his men unexpectedly Very tenacious, has been desperately resisting his own fierce attack!The antler fence has already been breached thirteen or four times, and the thick wall of the city was also damaged by seven or eight gaps. But not long after, Meng Da's powerful soldiers were forced to withstand the hail of arrows and bullets, almost using their flesh and blood. The body was blocked with mud, stone and wood! He frowned slightly, and suddenly asked, "How is the situation in Weixing County?" Hearing this, Niu Jin immediately took over and replied: "Although Zhuge Liang sent Wang Ping, Yao Jing, Zheng Tuo and other 23,000 soldiers from the Shu army to attack Weixing County three days ago, after the bravery of my brother and the prefect Shen Yi cooperated to resist They have never been able to gain the upper hand.” Sima Yi nodded slightly, and said calmly: "Well... that was really hard for Niu Hengjun. The better they guard there, the smoother we can play here!" "Reporting to the Governor, the general still has a worry, I don't know whether to say it or not?" Cao Zhao asked with a worried look on his brows. "Speak! It's okay for you to speak!" "What the general is worried about is: If Zhuge Liang, the thief chieftain, gathers 120,000 puppet Shu troops to attack Weixing County in a fit of anger, how will we respond?" "Hmm... probably not?" Sima Yi looked up at the western sky, and said leisurely, "First of all, it is Zhuge Liang's consistent style to 'strive hard, step by step, and seek victory steadily'. To do this kind of "all-or-nothing" aggressive thing for a Weixing County. After all, pulling out a small city with the strength of the three armies makes people feel like "victory is not military, and victory is ridiculous". Secondly, the most critical point , as far as I know, General Cao, your cousin, General Cao Zhen, has personally led an army from Chang'an City, and is preparing to enter Hanzhong County along the Xiegu Road and confront Zhuge Liang head-on. Under such circumstances, do you think Zhuge Liang will Are you allocating too many troops to attack Weixing County?" "This... the chief inspector's analysis is penetrating, and I will admire it in the end!" After Cao Zhao heard this, the worry on his brows gradually dissipated. Sima Yi smiled, and asked again: "What's the situation on the other side of Mulansai?" This time, it was Master Sima who came to answer—he has now been transferred to Sima Yi's side to take up the post of military adviser: "To the governor, on the side of Mulansai, Luxun sent 10,000 reinforcements from Xiling City overnight four days ago. Sneak attack—but they didn't expect that you, the commander-in-chief, had planned for a long time. Under the head-on attack of Pei Mujun and General Xiahou, they had lost their troops and retreated..." "10,000 reinforcements? Lu Xun only sent 10,000 reinforcements to attack Mulansai?" Sima Yi's face was full of indescribable astonishment, "Isn't this too sloppy and perfunctory? How could Lu Xun be so confused in his recent use of troops— ——If this matter were for me, Sima Yi, I would definitely seize the opportunity and dispatch at least 40,000 elite soldiers without hesitation. In Jiangling, Pei Qian had no time to come to guard the wooden fence; the real one sneaked up to the wooden fence, and secretly beat Xia Houru by surprise! He may have a chance of success in doing so. Opportunity! Hehehe... Now that he can't worry about it, the governor has no worries! From now on, he can focus on cleaning up Xincheng County with all his strength!" "The governor of the capital is as good as a god, and Xincheng County is about to fall!" Everyone praised in unison. "Xincheng County, I will take it sooner or later. However, according to your opinion, what kind of strategy should we adopt to quickly capture this city? This Governor sincerely hopes that you will give us your advice." Sima Yi With a "huh" he turned around and asked them earnestly. Zhoutai looked at the war-torn Xincheng County in the distance, and said solemnly: "I would like to report to the governor, a certain Yizhou's humble opinion, at this time when every second is racing against time to attack the city, it is better for our army to start in time. The eight hundred dead soldiers in the county took advantage of the chaos to snipe and assassinate, taking the opportunity to disturb the enemy's morale..." Sima Yi nodded slowly, and said slowly: "When the two armies are at a stalemate, it is necessary to have an unexpected blow to reverse the situation--very good! There is an old saying, 'It takes a thousand days to raise a man, but only a short time.' Zhou Tai , you go down and take care of this matter!" Zhou Taigong bowed his body to accept the order respectfully and responded: "No." "Great Governor, this subordinate has been thinking hard for the past few days and has come up with a plan." Sima Shi was already eager to try, so he took advantage of this opportunity to speak, "This subordinate has repeatedly checked the terrain around Xincheng County and found that it is here. The terrain is high in the east and low in the west, high in the north and low in the south, like a dustpan. Although the city is surrounded by water on three sides in the north, west, and south to prevent our army from approaching, our army can also do the opposite. That's to divert the Han River flowing from its north to the east city gate by digging canals and building dams, and then take advantage of the momentum to break the embankment and flood the city with water! In this way, Xincheng County will undoubtedly be destroyed!" After hearing this, Sima Yi frowned and pondered for a moment, then suddenly smiled and asked the other generals around him: "Hehehe...the method of water attack?! What do you think of this strategy?" All the people in the field fell silent: they almost all knew that the military strategist named "Ma Si" was Sima Yi's eldest son, Sima Shi. Who would dare to comment on his suggestion? Sima Yi still said calmly: "From ancient times to the present, attacking a city with water can be regarded as a convenient and quick-acting strategy-but, does it really have no disadvantages? I'm afraid we need to think about it in detail. ..." Sima Shi originally thought that the plan he said was unexpected and would be greatly appreciated by his father, but Sima Yi didn't seem to be very optimistic about this plan, and seemed to have hesitation.He rolled his eyes, and was about to continue to add arguments, but saw Zhou Tai stepping forward, his face was a little red, and there was a little sweat on his forehead, but he still said solemnly and bluntly: "Governor Sima, Mr. Sima, Please forgive Zhou for his slip of the tongue and collision - the plan of "siege the city with water" has been thought of by Zhou before, but Zhou refused to offer it in the end because he felt that although it can be convenient and effective for a while, it must be It will cause heavy casualties to the innocent people in the city and lose the support of the people. A certain state has always believed that the key to using troops is that "attacking the heart is the top, attacking the city is the bottom; fighting with the heart is the top, and fighting with soldiers is the bottom." Therefore, good generals in ancient and modern times must not be a last resort. , I will never kill innocent people indiscriminately with the strategy of attacking with water, so as to avoid the bad name of cruelty and inhumanity, so as to win the people's hearts and submit to them. My majestic Great Wei Dynasty Wang Shi raised troops to fight against rebellion, and it was grand and upright, so why use this strategy to rush to attack the city? Losing the hearts of the people? What's more, Xincheng County has become an isolated city under the siege of the army. We only need to increase our efforts to attack the morale of the army, and sooner or later it will be defeated..." After hearing this, Sima Master couldn't help but blushed half of his face, and thought: Good Zhoutai, as a trusted stalwart of my family, you are so unruly to belittle my suggestion in front of everyone. Already... huh!Father Marshal favors and values ​​you so much, is this how you repay my Sima family?Just as he was thinking about it, he heard Cao Zhao sneer a few times to show his sarcasm, which made him even more angry!He stomped his feet violently, his brows furrowed, and he looked like an angry leopard, about to explode on the spot... At this moment, Sima Yi laughed heartily and said: "Good! Good! Good! The words of the governor of the state are really the essence of the strategy of using troops! It's a good one. "Attack the heart as the top, and attack the city as the bottom; Fighting is the top, and fighting is the bottom'! But, why does Bendu sound familiar! You didn't copy it from others, did you?" When he said this jokingly, De Zhoutai blushed and couldn't answer. This is what he heard from the "eyeliner" in Shu Han. It is said that Ma Di was sending Zhuge Liangnan off. The sixteen-character military formula presented by Menghuo. But Sima Yi's eyes turned, and his expression immediately became solemn: "Then, according to the opinion of Lord Zhou, how should our Great Wei Tianjun carry out a 'psychological strategy' against the rebels in the city at this moment?" Zhou Tai settled down, took a look at Master Sima who was full of anger and blushing, gritted his teeth secretly, and the timidity in his eyes disappeared, and he clasped his fists to Sima Yi and said, "Master Sima's attack with water Although the strategy of "city" is not to be taken lightly, it can also be used for other magical purposes-according to the opinion of a certain state, it is better to "use the strategy", come to "use one thing and use the other", let the archers shoot arrows into the city, and send arrows to the city. The scholars publicly declared, "Our great Wei Tianjun came here to suppress the rebellion. It could have attracted the Han River to flood the city and attack, but the scholars in Nian'er and other cities were coerced by Meng Da and rebelled, and they couldn't bear to suffer. I also don’t want you to die with Meng Da’s thieves—that’s why the governor abandoned this ingenious strategy. Wan Wanger and others felt the benevolence and generosity of the army of the Celestial Dynasty, quickly abandoned the darkness and turned to the light, and left the city to surrender.’ Governor Sima thought how?" "Good! Good! Good! Zhou Tai, after you go down, follow this 'strategy of attacking the heart' and do it!" Sima Yi nodded repeatedly, his eyes overflowing with joy, "This time the battle against rebellion, the governor I don’t take pleasure in capturing Meng Da, but I’m so happy to see the great talent of the king of Dezhou! By the way, I would like to remind you: After you go down, you will write the book of persuading to surrender with the reporters in the shogunate. The words and sentences should be embellished more, and it must be written with both emotion and prose, and the eloquence is moving." After he finished his orders, he turned his face to look directly at Master Sima and said, "Zi Yuan! Zhou Taijun is born intelligent and resourceful, and he is already a rare good general at a young age. There is an old saying, 'Sages are impermanent Teacher, only those who are capable are teachers.' You must learn a lot from him in the future!" Hearing his father's words, Master Sima hurriedly suppressed all the ups and downs in his heart, slowly suppressed the strong anger on his face, tried his best to be docile and calm, and replied so respectfully: " Okay, my son has remembered the painstaking teachings of the commander-in-chief." After that, he was silent for a moment, then turned his head suddenly, and smiled at Zhoutai, "Brother Zhou, Master will accompany you to the shogunate office to record Mr. Zhang Discuss over how to write the letter of persuading the arrow..." In the damp basement, there was a pungent musty smell everywhere.Although the four corners of the room were lit with red torches, the entire basement still looked shadowy and gloomy. Ever since Meng Da saw the power of Wei Jun's Shishi with his own eyes on the gate tower of the East City that day, he never dared to go up to the podium to risk himself, but hid in the underground secret room in the backyard of his prefect's mansion, closed the door and shrank away. out. "Father, right now people in Xincheng County are in a state of unease - the county lieutenant's office on East Street and the arsenal on North Street have all been raided by some unknown people; several watchtowers in Nancheng were also sneaked last night. Set it on fire and burned it! It seems that a lot of traitors from Wei have sneaked into our city earlier." Meng Xing reported to Meng Da with a worried face. "Who did it? My lord, have you found out?" Li Fu, who was standing on the right side of the Meng Dashu case, asked with concern. "Hmph! Is there still a need to investigate? These people must be the accomplices of the iron peddler Zhou Tai who planted in the city that day - Sima Yi! You are so insidious! It turns out that you and Xia Houshang have been working together all these years. Singing "double-reed opera" one by one to deceive me! Thanks to your patience, you have been carefully guarding against me!" Meng Da's eyes were so swollen that they almost popped out, and the bloodshot eyes were like spider webs. It was really shocking to see, "Hmph! I don't have to hang out with those people anymore! Xing'er, you pass on an order to get all the foreign residents in the city since I entered the Wei Kingdom in the first year of Huang Chu, no matter what. Whether they are farmers, businessmen, or officials, they will all be imprisoned by this seat, and they will all be killed if they find a chance!" When Li Fu heard this, he couldn't help being surprised: "Master! Your plan is wrong! Since the first year of Huang Chu, there have been thousands of foreign residents in this city? During these six or seven years, they have established a relationship with the original residents. All kinds of relationship networks, relatives, friends, or friends, have almost merged into one - how can you catch them all? Now that the enemy is outside the city, we can only work together and work together It is to fight against the enemy externally and unanimously! When you issue this order, don’t you push all the foreign residents and their relatives and friends to Sima Yi’s side?!” His fierce criticism and opposition are well-founded: in his Li Among the in-laws of the clan, many people are foreign residents!If you really want to "kill a lot" like that, I'm afraid the whole city will be in chaos immediately! "This... this..." Meng Da just made such an extreme mistake just now when he lost control of his emotions. After being persuaded by Li Fu, he came to his senses again, "Master Li is right! Xing'er, For the time being, you don’t want to carry out the father’s order just now—it’s just that those Wei thieves and traitors hide in the city and stir up troubles from time to time, so it’s very worrying! Master Li, how do you think this matter should be resolved?” Holding on to his "goatee", Li Fu pondered for a while, and finally said: "In my opinion, there is no other way to do this for the time being. The only thing we can do is to dispatch soldiers to step up patrols in the city and take strict precautions day and night. ; At the same time, send elite soldiers to firmly guard all the main roads in the city, as long as the time goes by, those Wei thieves and traitors will have no gaps, and the chaos will gradually calm down!" After hearing this, Meng Xing let out a sneer from his nostrils: "Master Li, your countermeasure is too passive if you blindly 'focus on defense'! Hmph! "Catch all those foreign scholars in one go", but the inscription "use heavy codes in troubled times" must not be forgotten at all. In Xing's opinion, it is necessary to use a few heads of their group of foreign scholars to stand up! "My lord, Boss Jia from Dongjie Sifang and Shopkeeper Liu from Xicheng Pawnshop have offended you before, and they paid too little tax this year, so why don't you let the boy go and arrest them both? Accused of being a "thief inside and outside" and killed! In this way, not only their property was confiscated, but also those Wei thieves "inside traitors" lurking in the city were deterred! What do you think, father, that kills two birds with one stone?" "Okay! Xing'er, go and do it right away!" Meng Da agreed immediately. "Impossible! Absolutely impossible! In the past, Liu Bang, the emperor of the Han Dynasty, released his private grievances and treated Yong Teeth with peace of mind. Has my lord forgotten it?" Li Fu felt inappropriate when he heard Meng Xing's "excuse his head to establish his prestige" , secretly endured and endured, and only hoped that Meng Da would be able to discern right from wrong and refuse to accept it. After hearing that Meng Da also agreed in the end, he couldn't help persuading, "Boss Jia and shopkeeper Liu are certainly rude to the lord." But after all, no rebellious act has been found out yet, and if Mr. Meng was killed on the charge of 'communicating with the inside and outside the thief', I'm afraid people will not accept it!" "People are dissatisfied? What's the matter if people's hearts are dissatisfied? Disobedience is nothing!" Meng Xing retorted, "Master Li, you don't think about your own master in everything, but speak for outsiders—oh, Meng understands I asked: Could it be that you, Boss Jia, shopkeeper Liu, and the others have some kind of "ghost tricks" in private?" Li Fu hadn't finished listening, his face was flushed red, as if all the blood in his body had rushed to his ears: "Mr. Meng, why are you talking like that?" "Hehehe! Master Li——Meng Xing said something in a moment of anger, don't take it to heart!" Meng Da hurriedly persuaded Li Fu, and at the same time cast his eyes at Meng Xing, "You idiot It's important to get out and do your serious business!" When Meng Xing heard this, he understood that this was his father's tacit approval for him to kill Boss Jia and Shopkeeper Liu to gain power, so he gave Li Fu a haughty look, and walked out swaggeringly and complacently. The room finally fell silent.Li Fu looked at Meng Da, hesitated for a long time, and then said solemnly: "Master, what do you think of the current situation in Xincheng County?" Meng Da raised his head, stared at him in bewilderment, and said, "Li Fujun, you've been a little out of sorts lately! You're afraid of this and that, fearful of the first and the last, and have no sense of killing and decisiveness! Lian Xing'er intends to eliminate You don't understand the good intentions of being a 'traitor' and gaining prestige from others! Now you come to ask how the situation in our county is inexplicably—my city is strong and the river is deep, and the soldiers are well-equipped. The enemy Sima Yi's thunderbolt chariots, dash chariots, and spiked crossbows are powerful, but they should be more than enough for self-defense without loss! Besides, the food accumulated in our city can support the entire county for a year——Sima Yi and the others traveled long distances to attack , transporting food must be very difficult, how can we afford it? You should rest assured!" Li Fu's brows were full of sorrow: "My lord, have you ever read the arrow book that the Wei army outside the city shot into the city?" "Which arrow book?" "It's the letter of arrows where they declared 'abandoning the method of water attack and convincing people with virtue'." "Oh... it's this letter of arrows! I saw it—this is just their hypocritical deceitful words! Humph! Humph! Humph! Even if they want to lure the Han River to flood the city and attack, it will be easier said than done! Then It is to dig long canals and build dams—such a huge fortification, how much work will it take for them!" "My lord, my subordinates are not wary of the feasibility of their doing this, but are secretly paying attention to the psychological reaction this letter of arrow caused among the soldiers and civilians in Xincheng County—to tell the truth, my lord, they all secretly Everyone praised Sima Yi's army as a "teacher of benevolence and righteousness"!" "A teacher of benevolence and righteousness? How can there be any teacher of benevolence and righteousness in this world? I have seen it through, but they are all a group of tiger and wolf teachers disguised as 'benevolence and righteousness'!" Meng Da laughed a few times, and waved his right hand, " Don't believe their lies." Li Fu thought to himself: You still need to explain these truths to me?However, there is still a big difference whether to put on that layer of "benevolence and righteousness" camouflage.He continued to follow his previous train of thought: "Actually, in the eyes of my subordinates, Sima Yi's letter of arrows is not just about creating a 'teacher of benevolence and righteousness' on the surface. He did not shoot his bow, and secretly harbored the poisonous plan of "deterrence" - he clearly laid out the strange strategy of "siege the city with water", just like a sharp ax hanging high above the heads of the soldiers and civilians in the city, This deep sense of deterrence is far more powerful than cutting down the sharp ax! Especially now that Zhuge Liang and Lu Xun's rescuers are blocked, and it seems that our foreign aid has been cut off, Li I am really worried about how many soldiers and civilians in this city can tenaciously resist to the end..." "Well...then what do you say should be done about this matter?" "The subordinates still believe that when the lord is in the face of this great enemy, he must not indiscriminately kill and act recklessly to overpower others. He must use kindness and benevolence to be kind to everyone, so that the people in the city can fight against the foreign enemy with one heart and one mind. what!" Hearing his words, Meng Da came back slowly, and couldn't help secretly getting angry, and said coldly: "If you don't use heavy codes to establish your prestige, how can you suppress the "internal traitors" in the city? Li Fu! Okay, it’s just too roundabout! I don’t know how to be flexible at all! For more than ten years, why have you been the head of the county mansion, but I, Meng Da, can be your lord? Even more brilliant—this seat is not as straightforward as you!" He choked so hard that Li Fu's face changed slightly on the spot, and even his hands that had been firmly placed on his knees couldn't help shaking violently—in an instant, he almost bit his lips until they bled! At this time, Meng Da didn't take into account all the feelings and reactions in Li Fu's heart, and continued to chatter: "You! When the situation is critical, you were fooled into that by Sima Yi's letter of arrows! Li Fu, I give you Let’s just say, don’t look at Sima Yi, who keeps saying that he wants to ‘abandon the method of water attack and convince people with virtue’, maybe he has already secretly started digging ditches and dams outside to attract Han River to fill the city... Fortunately, I was right at the beginning. This trick was kept in secret! Well...Of course, this is also due to your advice and advice from Li Fu." 他所说的“留了一手”，就是指当初自己听从李辅的建议把郡城修成了外城与内城两重，中间隔着一道排水暗渠直通城外的护城河……这也是他见了“箭书”心底不慌的缘故。万一司马懿食言而肥，真的便要引水来攻，自己还可以撤回内城固守嘛！但眼下这个李辅仗着他的“智囊”身份老是在自己面前指手画脚、评东论西，也实在是有些太烦！干脆把他外放出去搁一边算了，也图个耳根清净！ 于是，孟达又硬生生挤出几丝干笑来，向李辅故作亲切地说道：“李主簿啊！今晨邓贤派人前来报告他镇守东门有些吃紧——你就代本座去他那里犒劳慰问一下吧，让他们给本座拼死顶住！顺便你就留在那里协助邓贤他们守好东门……这个任务，本座是相信你一定能圆满完成的！只要咱们能够再挺过两三个月，司马懿和他的队伍一定会因为缺粮少食而不战自退的……” 李辅沉默地坐在他对面，脸上表情显得似有几分木然：“属下遵命。”