Chapter 429 The Last Straw
February is a good day for the people to start spring plowing. They originally wanted to wait until after the spring plowing before leading the army to continue attacking Pingzhou. However, the scouts they sent out brought back news that Pingzhou, Taizhou and Binzhou were almost empty due to the disasters and wars in the past two years. The court did not properly resettle the people who survived by chance, and they did not even have seeds for spring plowing.
Therefore, Wei Chengyi directly ordered the army to march out. Because they had already sent their generals away, and there were few troops stationed in Pingzhou, and most of the government officials had fled, the people took the initiative to open the city gates and warmly welcomed them in. They easily took Pingzhou without any soldiers, and it only took a few days.
"There are too few people in Pingzhou, and a lot of land is uncultivated."
In the hall of Pingzhou government office, Yan Junling rubbed his brows with a headache. In other places, there were many people and little land, and there was not enough to go around. But in Pingzhou, there was more land and fewer people, and there was no way to carry out spring plowing smoothly.
"Um···"
Shen Xiangwan, who was sitting in the main seat, pondered for a moment before speaking. "Bring all the captured soldiers to Pingzhou to cultivate the land. We must finish cultivating all the land in the shortest possible time. In addition, when the land is no longer suitable for cultivation in the second half of the year, transfer civilians from other prefectures to Pingzhou. This place is located in the central region of Tianqi Country, with excellent climate conditions and very fertile land. We cannot let it go to waste."
It is impossible for those captured soldiers to be directly incorporated into the Wei army. Instead of leaving them alone for training, it is better to let them play a role. As for moving people from other prefectures to fill Pingzhou, this is not a trivial matter. It requires long-term planning and it will be just right to arrange it in the second half of the year.
"Um."
Yan Junling did not object, and the others nodded in agreement. There was simply too much land in Pingzhou, and it would be a shame to just leave it there without planting anything. In the final analysis, it was all the dog emperor's fault. If he had been a little more kind and benevolent, the huge Pingzhou would not have been so empty.
The desolation of Pingzhou not only made Shen Xiangwan and his wife feel heavy-hearted, but also made all the officials who followed Yan Junling sigh. In order to restore Pingzhou's vitality as soon as possible, they brought nearly 200,000 captured soldiers to Pingzhou as quickly as possible, and farming was carried out in full swing. Seeing that those idle lands without people were planted with crops one after another, everyone, including the surviving people in Pingzhou, smiled.
While they were busy retaking Pingzhou, the East Border Army led by Chu Liang was also expanding rapidly. Within a few days of the beginning of the year, they captured two prefectures one after another. Compared with Shen Xiangwan and his wife, the East Border Army had a deeper foundation. Chu Liang only needed to attack the city. There were special people in charge of the collection and relocation, so he didn't need to worry about it at all.
Seeing that Wei Chengyi and his wife and Chu Liang had already conquered half of the country, the emperor became anxious and no longer cared about the border issues. He withdrew 200,000 troops from the 300,000 troops guarding the southern border and handed them over to Wanqi Shan's two sons to lead them to Zhenzhou, trying to resist Chu Liang's offensive. Wanqi Shan himself also withdrew 200,000 troops from the 300,000 troops guarding the northern border and sent them to Quanzhou to prevent Wei Chengyi and his wife from continuing to capture more cities.
All the emperor's attention was on Wei Chengyi and his wife and Chu Liang, and he had no time to care about other rebel forces. Various groups proclaimed themselves kings on the spot, and some even proclaimed themselves emperors. At most, they only occupied one state.
"The Emperor is treating Wanqishan and his son as a lifeline?"
After receiving the news from the imperial city, Shen Xiangwan couldn't help but curl her lips. It was not that she was arrogant and looked down on others. The Li royal family had lost the support of the people and the situation was hopeless. Not to mention Wanqishan and his son, even if immortals and gods came down to earth, it would be difficult to save the situation. At most, they could only delay the speed of destruction for a few days.
"Then we will directly defeat his lifeline."
Wei Chengyi's words were confident yet commanding, and the officials and generals present nodded in agreement. The Wanqishan father and son were indeed true warriors, but which of the generals present hadn't been battle-hardened? How could they possibly lose to them? Furthermore, their equipment was superior, their morale was higher, and they even had more troops. Stopping them wouldn't be easy.
"They only have 200,000 people, but we have an army of 400,000. Isn't that too much of an insult?"
Looking back and forth at them, Shen Xiangwan said something with a smile on his face.
Bullying?
Everyone's forehead darkened. The garrisons of those cities they had captured before were only around 20,000 soldiers at most. Wasn't that even more bullying?
"Oh? What suggestions does Wanwan have?"
Ignoring his subordinates' reactions, Wei Chengyi turned directly to Shen Xiangwan. Based on his understanding of her, she must have other ideas.
"I do have a small suggestion."
Facing the crowd's puzzled gazes, Shen Xiangwan smiled faintly, and after a moment, he slowly said, "With our equipment and morale, even if we were to fight against the same 200,000 men, it would be no different from bullying them. Regardless of who their commander is, I don't think the Dog Emperor has any more troops to deploy. Why don't we split up and leave 200,000 men to wait for Wanqi Shan to lead the Northern Border Army? Then send two commanders, each with 100,000 men, to attack from the left and right sides, quickly occupying the surrounding prefectures. Finally, together with Chu Liang, we will encircle the Imperial City, leaving the Dog Emperor unable to escape and forcing him to stay in the palace and wait for death."
As for those forces that wanted to proclaim themselves kings, it was fine if they weren't stopped. Anyone who stood in their way would be crushed. They would be dealt with sooner or later anyway. This was also to prevent the dog emperor from evacuating the palace and living among the people. As long as all his escape routes were blocked, the dog emperor would never be able to escape the imperial city. How many nasty things had he done to them over the years? She had recorded every detail for him.
"Can."
After a moment's thought, Wei Chengyi agreed to her suggestion. He glanced at the generals below one by one, as if he was about to call on their officers.
"Your Majesty, I am willing to lead an army of 100,000 to attack the provincial capital on the left wing."
Seeing this, General Peng was startled and hurriedly stood up to ask for battle. This rare opportunity must not be missed by that brat Qingying.
"Your Majesty, I am also willing to lead an army of 100,000 to attack the Youyi Prefecture."
"Your Majesty, I beg to fight!"
General Chen followed closely behind, and the other generals did not dare to hesitate any longer. They all clasped their fists and asked to fight. At this time, they would not talk about comradeship, they just wanted to fight for the mission first.
Seeing this, Shen Xiangwan couldn't help laughing, but she didn't make any more comments. Deploying troops was Wei Chengyi's strong point, and she only needed to assist him and give him advice at the right time. As for Yan Junling and others, they had bitter smiles on their faces. Shen Xiangwan's suggestion was good, but it greatly increased their burden. Not to mention the dispatch of materials, just the problem of their placement of the state capital was enough to give them a headache.
[End of this chapter]
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