Jiaodong Ancient City.
This place has a history of more than a thousand years.
Inside the government office, the old county magistrate was trembling with fear.
At this moment, he lowered his head.
He could only glance at the young man sitting there out of the corner of his eye.
He wore a jade crown and was covered in armor.
There was a chill from top to bottom.
Looking through the documents, he was intimidating without even getting angry.
"Tie Niu, how are your preparations going?"
"The soldiers have all rested."
"With the prince's order, we can set off!"
"Um."
Ning Que nodded with satisfaction.
"Your Majesty, you are truly amazing this time."
"Who would have thought that we would go around to the rear."
"Take advantage of the weak defenses in Jiaodong and launch a surprise attack on Jiaodong."
"That old dog Tian Zhongxun is really ruthless..." Tie Niu joked, "In order to attack Linzi, he almost conscripted all the men in the rear. Anyone between the ages of 14 and 65 had to serve in the army."
"I've used this trick before."
"That's what we call a big detour."
"Tie Niu, fighting requires using your brain."
"Tian Zhongxun's focus is now on Linzi."
Ning Que pointed at the crudely made sand table and drew a circle with his hand. "He's at Linzi Port, and he must have laid a tight net. If we dock at Linzi, their catapults are formidable. We'll probably be smashed to pieces before we even get close to the port. Even if we manage to dock, we'll still have to guard against their continued attacks. I only have 30,000 men, so how many men and supplies will be left?"
"As the art of war says, attack the enemy's weakness with strength, and attack the enemy's weakness with weakness. As a commander, you must identify the enemy's weaknesses and exploit them. Tian Zhongxun has a large force stationed in Linzi, and we would be at a disadvantage if we confront them head-on. Now we can bypass Jiaodong and quickly attack and penetrate the enemy's rear."
"Hmm... I really don't understand these things." Tie Niu smiled innocently and scratched his head, saying, "Anyway, I just follow the prince. I will fight however the prince tells me to!"
"That won't do."
Ning Que shook his head seriously.
Tie Niu was the first to follow him.
As a native of Xiliang, he is honest and loyal.
His orders can be carried out perfectly.
It's just that it's a little lacking in culture and governance.
Among the three commanders, Tie Niu is the worst.
It's no problem to let him charge into battle.
But it's not possible to let him take charge alone.
Most of the time he just goes head-to-head.
"Tie Niu, you need to read more."
“Knowledge is power.”
"I don't understand these things." Tie Niu scratched his head awkwardly and whispered, "I just want to follow the prince. I don't want to be a high-ranking official in this life."
"That's all..."
Ning Que looked at Tie Niu and felt a deep sense of powerlessness.
How can I say this?
Everyone has their own aspirations!
It’s a good thing that Tie Niu thinks this way.
At the very least, Tie Niu has a clear understanding of himself.
He won't do things he's not good at.
He just likes to go into battle and kill the enemy.
Knowing people and using them well is also a virtue of those in power.
So there is no need to force too much.
"County Magistrate Tian." Ning Que looked at the trembling magistrate and said calmly, "Don't worry, I won't do anything to you. I still need you to do something."
"Don't worry, Your Majesty!"
The county magistrate fell to his knees with a thud.
He kowtowed repeatedly to Ning Que.
"As long as the prince orders, I will do my best!"
Ning Que didn't even bother to look at him.
This is how people like this survive.
There's no need to be too critical.
If you change a hard bone, it will be quite troublesome.
There is actually nothing valuable in Jiaodong now.
The rest were the elderly, the weak, women and children.
Almost all the men were conscripted as soldiers.
As for food and fodder, don't even think about it.
The people were in great distress.
I can't even eat enough.
If Ning Que asked them to donate food, people would probably starve to death.
Fortunately, he had a lot of food on board.
It is more than enough to maintain the army.
"Jiaodong is now Tian Zhongxun's capital after all."
"There must be some money and food left in the palace."
"Jiaodong is now flooded with disaster victims and agricultural work has been abandoned."
"Food prices have skyrocketed, and people have had no choice but to sell their children."
"This is all Tian Zhongxun's doing..."
"While the soldiers on the front lines were fighting for him, he planted the Tian clan in the rear to drive up food prices and plunder the people. Countless women were forced into prostitution!"
"This old guy is just an animal!"
"Yes, yes, these Tian family members are all animals!"
County Magistrate Tian completely disregarded his own status.
Nodding in agreement frantically from the sidelines.
That's what war is like.
Especially since Tian Zhongxun only had two counties under his control, even if he had accumulated money and grain for so many years, it would only be enough to cover his war expenses. Doing so would only make the people suffer more...
Soldiers on the front line fought bloody battles.
The powerful Tian family in the rear is sucking the blood of the people!
What will happen when these soldiers return home?
Tian Zhongxun doesn't care at all.
After winning the battle and returning, Tian Zhongxun pretended to be a good person and pretended not to know what the Tian family had done. Then he found a few people to take the blame and act as scapegoats. By then, he would still be the great and glorious King of Qi!
Ning Que was very familiar with this method.
"My Lord, why should we care about these things?"
"It would be good if we don't start a massacre!"
"I heard that old dog Tian Zhongxun has already captured Gaotang and Anping counties. After entering the cities, they went on a killing spree, abducting women to satisfy their lust in the army. They also destroyed farmland and robbed food."
"Tie Niu, you've forgotten again." Ning Que looked at Tie Niu and said earnestly, "Why is the Ning Wang Army invincible? Because it is the army of the king, the army of benevolence and righteousness. No matter where it goes, it always has the support of the people."
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