Northern Prefecture Rivers and Mountains

Chapter 91 Mobilization
"The enemy was heavily guarded, and I couldn't find an opportunity." Mao Dezuo, who was dressed as a member of the Cao family, looked apologetic.

"The bandits are so cautious. I underestimated them." Liu Daogui originally planned to ambush the bandits on the way, but he didn't expect that they had sent out scouts far and wide and marched extremely cautiously, so he couldn't find any opportunity at all.

Cao Ji said: "Since the thieves have said they will not enter the city, we can make long-term plans."

"They have mobilized such a large army and are marching at double the speed. How could they let go of the city of Qi and your Cao family? This is clearly a tactic of playing hard to get!" Liu Daogui was not as naive as him.

Cao was like a piece of fat meat on the table. Not only Liu Daogui was thinking about him, but the bandits were also salivating over him.

What is a thief? It is a thief and a bandit.

Those who carry a knife to rob property and do all kinds of evil are called thieves.

Liu Zhong bowed and said, "I suggest letting them into the city and closing the gate to beat the dog."

Although Liu Daogui had never met Zhang Fonuo, it was not difficult to guess that this person was extremely cunning and not an easy person to deal with.

The other side had 5,000 troops. After entering the city, they burned and killed people, disturbing the people and failing to control the situation. They might end up losing more than they gained.

Liu Daogui paced twice. The last time he captured Qingguang Village, he relied on random punches to kill the master and the elite troops of the Northern Palace Army.

Now, when the Cao family's troops are added together with the troops in his own hands, the gap in military strength between the two sides is actually not that big.

Their biggest advantage is that they are well-rested while the enemy is tired. The enemy has come from afar and must be tired. Moreover, they are a coalition force. Liu Daogui does not believe that these bandits can be united and face the enemy together.

This is not in line with human nature, nor with the nature of a thief.

"If Zhang Fonu wants to play tricks on us, we should just go all out and attack with all our forces, fighting them squarely and squarely."

Liu Daogui glanced at everyone.

"The enemy army is large in number and powerful..." Cao Ji's face changed.

"They have more people, so why should we have more? Your Cao family has over 4,000 people. If you gather the young and strong men in the city, plus our own troops, there will be at least 7,000 people. Why should we be afraid of them?"

The Cao family had already compromised with Liu Daogui once, and Cao Tengyun was sent to Xingguang Village overnight. The Cao family, from top to bottom, placed their hopes on Liu Daogui and were willing to obey his orders.

If the entire city is mobilized, there is no need to fear the bandits outside the city.

"Others are coming to kill us, do you, the Cao family, still want to be cowards?" Liu Zun shouted in a rough voice.

The Cao family members around all lowered their heads.

Liu Daogui sighed in his heart, no wonder the Cao family has been neither up nor down. They have been guarding the small piece of land in the city, and their life is too comfortable. Even their bloodiness is almost worn out. They are no better than the refugees outside the city.

"If you want to survive, you must fight hard. From now on, everything in the city is under my command!"

Faced with a powerful enemy, Liu Daogui was too lazy to talk to them anymore.

He issued three orders in succession. The first one was to gather all the armor and war horses in the city to form 150 cavalrymen, and distribute all the armor to the Northern Palace Army and the banner soldiers.

The second rule was to open the city's treasury and summon the young and strong men in the city who were willing to go to war, giving each of them five liters of grain.

The third rule is to exchange one thief’s head for three liters of grain.

Cao Ji's face turned grim. If this happened, the Cao family would be emptied out.

Liu Daogui saw through his thoughts and said, "If the city falls, not only will your Cao family be emptied, but even your family members will be wiped out. Money and food are only useful if you are alive. If you are dead, what's the point of having so much money and food? Keep a record of how much money you have spent. I will consider it as a loan from you. You can pay it back when you become rich in the future."

Although the Cao family surrendered, they were still not quite used to it.

Liu Daogui said this to reassure them.

In short, win this battle first, and worry about the future later. The more debts you owe, the stronger your ties to other people's interests are.

After winning this battle, Liu Daogui's reputation in Lanling will be at its peak. I don't believe the Cao family will dare to come and ask for money again...

Having said that, Cao Ji finally nodded.

He nodded, and all the Cao family members were mobilized to knock on doors from house to house.

"The bandits are attacking. The soldiers said that if you are willing to fight, each person will get five liters of food, and each bandit's head will be exchanged for another three liters." "Whether you go or not is up to you."

"If you miss this opportunity, you won't be able to find it again. If you want to make a fortune in the future, you won't have such a good opportunity."

Most of the Cao family members still agreed with Liu Daogui and knew the seriousness of the matter. The city had been breached, and it would be difficult to protect their parents, wives and children, let alone money and food.

"What, such a good thing?"

"Hurry, hurry, eldest and second brother, take your kitchen knives and axes. We also have a pair of bows and arrows. Take them all..."

Liu Daogui's three military orders were like three stones thrown into a calm lake, immediately causing huge waves.

The ones who were cowardly were only the father and son of the Cao family, not the people of the city and the Cao family's followers.

The two sides of the Huai River have always been the frontier of war, with bloodshed and killing going on. The people are extremely fierce.

One bandit leader can be exchanged for three liters of food, plus five liters of food for the battle. If you are lucky and kill a few more, it will be enough food for one or two months. This kind of good thing is rare in the world.

The enthusiasm of the people in the city was immediately aroused.

The desire for food far outweighs the fear of thieves.

In fact, Liu Daogui's decision was not a spur-of-the-moment decision. He was drawing inspiration from the example of Ran Min, the Heavenly King of Wudao. His order to kill the Hu people was followed by a deafening roar of slaughter on both sides of the Yellow River. There was no day without killing, no month without fighting, and millions of Hu people were killed in a sea of ​​blood...

The situation is almost the same now. The bandits are approaching in large numbers. If we do not resist, we will be slaughtered by them.

What people these days lack the least is courage; what they lack is someone to lead them.

Therefore, Zu Ti was able to carve out a niche for himself in the north with only more than a hundred moves.

Fundamentally speaking, this battle was not fought for Liu Daogui, but to save them from being slaughtered. Once the city was broken, the enemy army would never let them go...

In just two hours, three to four thousand young and strong men gathered in the city.

I don’t know where so many people came from. There were old men with white hair, strong women holding axes, and half-grown children with runny noses.

They gathered downstairs in the dull hall and clamored, "Where's the food? Where's the food?"

It was not until Cao's men brought in cartloads of food that everyone quieted down and looked at the food with shining eyes.

Liu Daogui's followers followed Liu Zun and shouted from the top of the city wall: "The wind is rising and the clouds are flying. How can we find brave warriors to roam in all directions? The bandits must be suppressed at all times. We must suppress them. Think about your parents, wives, and children..."

The shouting was indeed passionate, but the people below were only focused on the food and no one listened to what was being said above.

Liu Daogui smiled bitterly, stopped Liu Zun's performance, and asked the Cao family members to divide the food.

"Let's distribute the food!"

There was a great deal of bustle and joy under the city wall.

At the same time, it was also a mess.

Even in such an occasion, people could start a fight. It was only when Cao Ji personally led people down that the chaos was stopped...

After receiving the food, the crowd started shouting again, with kitchen knives and axes banging and banging. "Where are the thieves? Let them come over and die!"

"Damn it! More than 5,000 people want to attack the city. They really don't take us seriously."

"One bandit's head is worth three liters of grain, so ten heads are worth three dan. Brothers, work harder and don't let any of them go."

"This should have happened a long time ago. If the imperial court had given us three liters of grain during the Northern Expedition, we would have razed Yecheng long ago..."

The scene below the city wall was extremely lively and the crowd was very excited. Various weapons were raised and put down, and the sound of clinking bowls and pans was deafening. They were even more motivated than the Cao family members standing next to them.

Several members of the Cao family were yawning, drooping their eyelids, and looking listless, but the Cao family members were very active, and men, women, and children all went out together.

(End of this chapter)