The fourteenth year of Xinghe, autumn.

The 400,000-strong army of the imperial court entered Huyang in a few ways. Among them, the commander of the three armies was Ma Zhen, the defensive commander of Puzhou, and led the main force of the whole line. The other routes were all elite generals drawn by the imperial court, either the politician or the commander-in-chief. Each of them held important positions and cooperated with Ma Zhen.

As soon as they entered Huyang, the imperial court occupied the prefectures and counties, guarded the important roads and passes, formed a junction with each other, and formed a wide blockade circle, confronting the water gates and passes in Longwang Village. They did not make a quick move and attacked immediately.

In order to avoid a complete blockade, Longwang Village is not good at defending its own village, so they naturally divided their troops to defend various places. Seeing this, they temporarily remained silent and all units did not take the initiative to attack.

Only Zhou Jing, who had shuttled to Chen Feng, led a troops and marched through the water. Taking advantage of the situation when the opponent was not yet stable, he went straight to one of the fortresses of the main force, intending to call for a wave to see the situation.

The marching was quite fast, and there were only a small group of enemy troops on the way. Zhou Jing easily rushed past and arrived at his destination smoothly. He met the main force of the imperial court in a fortress facing the lake.

On the water surface around the fortress, the imperial navy ships were continuous, and various warships were various, forming formations to guard the waterways around the fortress.

Although there are also elite navy in Longwang Village, in terms of craftsmanship, the quality of the imperial warships is higher and the number is larger.

It can be seen that the imperial court has indeed invested a lot of money this time, and the support is not comparable to that of Lu Longchuan.

Because there are many enemy ships around the fortress, Zhou Jing did not order his troops to attack, but faced each other across the water, and looked at the fortress's tower from afar.

On the fortress's city tower, military flags embroidered with the word "horse" flutter.

Soon, he saw a group of generals wearing helmets and armor appear on the city tower. The leader was Ma Zhen, who was also observing this place from afar.

Bill, who is currently in a placement state, follows Ma Zhen.

"This scene seems familiar..."

Zhou Jing murmured to himself.

A few months ago, Lu Longchuan came, and they were also calling out across the lake. Although they were not in the same pass, the scene was quite similar. They were on the water and the other was on the city tower.

The difference is that I have changed my upper body.

Zhou Jing calmed down, activated his internal energy, and laughed:

"Last time your court came to conquer, and ended up losing and annihilated by the army. Lu Longchuan was like a stray dog, chased by me and ran all over the ground. After only a little time, the court sent you fools to die. Could it be that they thought the grandpas were not killed fast enough?!"

After the words came, many men from Longwang Village laughed and their morale was high.

Ma Zhen looked serious and shouted:

"Don't be rampant in the rebellious party! Chen Feng, the state has national laws. You openly plot against rebellion and rebellion, and your crimes are unforgivable. Now the court has surrendered the heavenly soldiers and the bandits, and Dingjiao and others are destroyed."

Zhou Jing looked at him in a narrow eye and asked knowingly: "Are you the commander sent by the court this time? Come and sign up!"

"I am the commander of the three armies appointed by the emperor, and the descendants of Duke Yiguo are shocked."

"It turns out that he was the son of the Duke and Marquis' family after the founding general... Hey, just so I took your head and started a ceremony and sacrificed the flag for us."

Zhou Jing shouted loudly.

Ma Zhen was unmoved and said in a deep voice: "It is useless to say too much to you like the thief. If you have the ability, you will be able to do it. If you can defeat me, you will be able to do it."

After whining at each other for a few words, Zhou Jing stopped talking, took a spear from the hand of the pawn beside him, used the same trick again, and threw the spear on the bow.

brush!

The spear broke through the air and rushed straight to the city tower, making a shrill whistle.

Ma Zhen's face did not change his color, and he moved his way to the side a few steps. The spear passed through the position he had originally set, and he was deeply nailed into the gatehouse, trembling continuously.

"I am worthy of being a master of Wu Han's world, and my arm strength is really good."

Ma Zhen didn't blink for a moment, and he made comments casually without any fear.

Zhou Jing narrowed his eyes and nodded secretly.

This person's courage is stronger than Lu Longchuan, and he is a powerful figure.

After all, the court is orthodox, with rich background and has won the world's talents. It always has real talents under its jurisdiction, and its level is much higher than that of ordinary Green Forest Powers.

Because there was Ling Fengzi next to Ma Zhen, Zhou Jing did not continue to throw the spear, looked over and raised his eyebrows:

"Lingfengzi! Some time ago, you and I fought more than a dozen times, and it was so happy. Unfortunately, you left without a fight. I heard from the people of Tianwang Village that you were poisoned and assassinated by people from the court, so you had to retreat. Why, you still have to serve the court now?"

Ling Fengzi smiled slightly without saying a word of excuse.

But Ma Zhen spoke out loudly, saying, "Chen thief, the real person is determined to share his worries with the emperor, and is loyal and righteous. How can you make fun of it?"

Zhou Jing ignored him and continued to shout: "You and I haven't decided the winner yet, can you get closer today?"

When Ling Fengzi heard this, he was about to step down the city wall.

At this time, Ma Zhen pressed Ling Fengzi and said solemnly:

"The real person doesn't have to pay attention to this guy. If he rushes to the battlefield, it's not too late to deal with it. If he retreats, don't worry about it, so as not to shake the morale of the army."

Ling Fengzi paused, nodded, and retreated aside.

In his placement mode, Zhou Jing specially set up a plan to let Ling Fengzi act in a low-key manner in public. If it is not a big deal, he does not need to violate Ma Zhen's orders. He just collects the content of the military discussion silently and then secretly conveys it.

Seeing this, Zhou Jing did not insist on calling Ling Fengzi to come out for a fight. After a while, he retreated with his troops.

He was just here to do some tests on this trip and did not intend to attack.

"It's indeed very brave and difficult to get rid of..."

The horse shook his eyes narrowed.

He watched Zhou Jing go away and did not send anyone to pursue him. He just ordered the defenders to be alert to prevent the other party from killing him.

Immediately, Ma Zhen and Ling Fengzi returned to the central army's tent, called their senior generals to convene military discussions.

Ling Fengzi was also listening. This was already agreed, and Ma Zhen had no objection.

After treating everyone, Ma Zhen said:

"Now the bandits are in great force and are difficult to eliminate. Can the generals have any suggestions?"

After the words came, Yuwen Yan, who was also appointed to lead the troops, stood up and clasped his fists and said:

"The strength of the bandits lies in three places. First, Chen Fengyong cannot be the one who maintains the morale of the army and boosts morale. Second, Huyang water network is densely populated, and the bandits have control over the territory. Third, the bandits have been bewitching the people for many years and are deeply supported by the villagers of Huyang... I thought that if we want to defeat the bandits, we must start with one of them first."

Ma Zhen nodded in agreement.

Before going to war, he analyzed the advantages of the bandits, and the most prominent ones were these three points. If it weren't for these three advantages, even if Longwang Village had tens of thousands of soldiers, it would be a mob in his eyes.

Yuwen Yan paused, then smiled:

"Chen Feng's courage is hard to match and cannot be broken for the time being, but he only has one person. We will open the front line and attack several ways together. At most, he will gain advantages all the way, so don't worry about it. The opponent has been entrenched in Huyang for a long time and is familiar with the terrain. It is difficult to break, so he doesn't have to worry about it. So we have to start from the third place.

The military strategy is full of things, attacking the heart is the best, and managing bandits is even more so. I am willing to offer five strategies to defeat the thief for the marshal."

Ma Zhen raised his eyebrows: "That's right."

Yuwen Yan responded, curled his smile and said seriously:

"One is the method of continuation of ten households. Most local villagers in Huyang follow the thief and assist the thief, and they need to supervise each other by continuation of one household follow the thief, and ten households are responsible for interfering with each other, so as to temporarily reduce the people's desire to help the thief and deter the unruly people who are trying to mess with the thief.

The second is to capture people from the family who follow the thief or arrest the thief fellows. These are all criminal people. They can be called thieves and followers. According to the law, they should be beheaded, but we will not kill them, giving them the opportunity to commit crimes and make meritorious service. When fighting, they will drive them in front of the enemy, forcing the enemy's soldiers to panic, their morale will be shaken, and the bandits will be held back. If the thief does not care about the big business, they will be unstable internally, lay hidden dangers, and will also lose the hearts of the local people in Huyang.

The third is to calm the people, adopt a policy of being gentle to the people, and temporarily distribute land to pacify them for the benefit of benefit. Even some of the sinners can be temporarily pardoned, allowing them to go to lobby relatives or fellow villagers who have been thieves, so that more people know that being thieves is beneficial, but following the thieves will do more harm than good.

Fourth, we divide public opinion. Huyang is in a place, villages and counties are scattered. Because of Chen Feng's atrocities, most of the gentry fled and no one manages it. We can temporarily promote some local wealthy families and give benefits, help our army to govern the local area, and supervise whoever is in conflict with the thief. Only when the court wins can they retain their position and continue to benefit, so that the villagers cannot unite. At the same time, they can also drive away villagers to live in groups, and the rest of the areas are firm and cleared.

Fifth, he was separated from the enemy generals and promised to reward some of the leaders of the bandits to tempt them.

...Although Chen Feng and the top leader would not surrender, Chen Feng inherited the power of the three dragons in Huyang, and his subordinates might not be united. For example, among the leaders who once belonged to the three dragons, there were naturally not those who were not firm enough to persuade them to surrender and disagree. They were unable to oppose Chen Feng's plot to rebel and rebel, so they gave them a way to recruit peace, especially those original gangs of water bandits, which were easier to surrender.

These five strategies can make the enemy's hearts fluctuate and gradually split... But it takes enough time to implement them. Just wait for a winter and you will be able to achieve results next year. At least 50 or less, and the longer you support Chen Feng, the better the effect."

After hearing this, the generals showed surprise on their faces and whispered to each other.

Ma Zhen pondered for a while and nodded in praise: "This is the five strategies for breaking the thief and being able to dig out the foundation of the bandit. I am very happy to hear it, and can act according to General Yuwen's strategy. No matter how strong Chen Feng is, we will destroy his wings and divide the thief and the bandits will naturally be defeated."

Everyone answered it.

Ling Fengzi's eyes moved slightly.

Most of these five strategies are more practical. If the imperial army really does this, it will indeed cause a lot of trouble. Ma Zhen and the other two are far more difficult to deal with than Lu Longchuan.

Everyone discussed for a while, and Ma Zhen let the generals disperse, and Ling Fengzi had to retreat.

But after a while, the curtain of the central army's tent was lifted again, but Yuwen Yan and Huang Ping turned back.

Ma Zhen asked the two to sit down, and then asked the personal soldiers to guard the neighborhood so that others could not get close.

The three of them are the core decision-making level. The highest responsible person for this trip has already formed a small circle to avoid other generals for discussion and do not want others to listen to the most important information.

Ma Zhen said in a deep voice: "Before going to the expedition, Pang Shumi once hinted, let us try our best to fight, the longer we drag it, the better it will be. It is difficult to deal with bandits, but it is convenient to act."

The other two nodded.

Because the Privy Councilor Pang Hong made a recommendation to the emperor, the three of them had to make this job, so they naturally had to sell Pang Hong's face. They were both nobles and they also had the same interests.

Both of them knew what Ma Zhen said about the "benefits"... The longer the delay, the more military expenditure the court gave, and the more share that could fill the private pockets.

Of course, the big part of it has to be handed over to Pang Shumi, which is a chance to make money that people finally get.

Therefore, the three of them did not have the intention to quickly defeat the thief. Even though they had many soldiers and horses under their command, they did not want to attack urgently, but planned to drag them into a long battle. Yuwen Yan's proposal was not only a strategy to defeat the thief, but also a hidden source of his own interests.

"If you don't talk about this matter, it's better to deal with the bandits first, otherwise if you lose, then these are all empty talk." Yuwen Yan smiled and brought back to the topic.

Ma Zhen narrowed his eyes and said, "The strategy you have just offered is missing in my opinion."
To be continued...