Tian Yu and Guo Jia met Chen Gui, who said that during this period of time, the surrendered soldiers from Heishan were arranged to build walls outside the city.
It was just after the New Year and the weather was cold, which was not suitable for digging trenches and setting up camps, but it was suitable for building simple low walls to defend against foreign enemies.
The reason for this is that there are many gaps in the city walls from Yanmen Pass in Bingzhou to Zhuojun, which leads to small groups of foreign tribes in the north of Bingzhou often going south to plunder.
Although Yan Rou was stationed and patrolling in Dai County north of Zhuo County, the soldiers in Youzhou's thousands of miles of border could not guarantee to resist all the bandits, so Youzhou's current response was to build low earth walls around the villages to prevent the Huns' horses from entering.
The construction method is also very simple. Just pile up the soil on the spot, pour water on it, mix it with prepared plant juice and tamp it down. After a few days, freeze it. Although it is ugly, it is very practical. The earth wall is ready.
The area around a village is often not all flat, so it is enough to build a wall in a place that is easy to enter and exit, and to assist with a hundred or so soldiers to deal with small groups of bandits.
Tian Yu came to a small village about ten miles north of the city, found hundreds of Black Mountain surrendered soldiers who were building a wall there, and asked about Yang Feng's whereabouts.
He walked along the earthen wall and walked halfway through the village, then he saw Yang Feng, who was covered in mud but whose face was carefully kept clean. He was sitting at the foot of the wall with his eyes closed, resting, a branch in his mouth, and the thick iron shackles on his feet had been worn to a shine.
Yang Feng listened to the footsteps coming, without even raising his head, and the soldier who followed Tian Yu was about to scold him when he saw this, but Tian Yu raised his hand to stop him and walked away.
He came in front of Yang Feng, squatted down, and said, "Commander Yang looks good. It seems that he has recovered a lot in the past six months."
Although Yang Feng didn't say anything, he had to admit that although he had done a lot of farm work and put in a lot of effort during this period, Youzhou did not treat him and his people badly in terms of food.
Seeing that Yang Feng didn't say anything, Tian Yu said, "The Master asked me to bring you a message."
Yang Feng showed a mocking look on his face and asked, "Do you want me to write a Taiping Qingling letter, or do you want me to work for him?"
Tian Yu smiled and said, "Let me talk slowly."
"My Lord asks you, how have you felt over the past six months?"
"Any ideas?"
Yang Feng moved his fingers and remained silent.
After a while, she said, "Go away. I don't want to hear anything else."
Tian Yu laughed, stood up and said, "Yang Feng, you are scared."
"Where is the courage you had to kill the young master?"
Yang Feng said coldly: "Boring."
"It's a devious and evil way to deceive people."
Tian Yu sneered and said, "What did the Taiping Dao do back then?"
Yang Feng didn't answer.
Seeing Yang Feng's reckless attitude, Tian Yu said, "Actually, I think the young master appreciates you very much."
"He once said that there are not many people in this world who can speak for the common people."
"From the looks of you, you haven't figured it out yet. I'll go back and report first."
"I know you don't like me, and I don't like you either. You have the blood of my men on your hands."
"The Master said that you can always come to him whenever you figure it out."
"Of course, if you want to build a wall here for the rest of your life, that's up to you."
Seeing that Tian Yu was really about to leave, Yang Feng asked, "What does he want?"
Tian Yu said, "Young Master, you want two things. One is the key to breathing techniques."
"General Taishi's method has hidden dangers, and so does yours. It will be difficult to perfect it unless you are well versed in the ways of the human body."
"But you have the famous doctor Yuan Hua under your command. If he knew the most basic principles of the breathing method, he might be able to perfect it. This would benefit everyone."
"Mr. Yuanhua treated you and should have told you that if you continue like this, you won't live for many years, right?"
"If you can improve this method, you can also extend your life by a few years."
Yang Feng showed a trace of sneer on his face: "It sounds good, but I don't care. What's the difference between living and dying?"
Tian Yu shook his head and thought to himself that this woman was really stubborn. Is this so-called labor education really effective?
He was helpless, but after all, Yuan Xi asked him to convey his thoughts, so he continued: "The second thing you want, I don't really understand."
Yang Feng sneered and said, "Isn't it the inheritance of the Taiping Dao in the world?"
"If he gets my help and uses my identity, it would be like gaining the loyalty of all the Yellow Turbans in the world. That's a good plan!"
Tian Yu shook his head and said, "The Master did not say that."
Yang Feng was stunned. Was he wrong?
Tian Yu said: "The young master said that he wants an answer from you."
"Where is the way out for this world?"
"If you want to figure it out, you can always go find him."
"That's all."
Tian Yu turned around and said, "I have already said what I want to say. Whenever you want to leave this place, you can go find Mr. Han Yu first."
"I almost forgot that Mr. Han Yu is going back to Jicheng, but the young master ordered that no matter who becomes the governor of Beixin City, you can go find him."
Yang Feng listened to the footsteps gradually fading away, then he slightly opened his eyes, squinting at Tian Yu's voice that was about to disappear, "What about my subordinates?"
Tian Yu paused and turned his head, "It depends on whether they can figure it out."
"Otherwise, you will continue to receive labor education here and farm for the rest of your life."
"This is not bad. At least I can save my life and have food to eat, right?"
Seeing that Tian Yu finally disappeared, Yang Feng spat out the dead branch in his mouth.
He wants to serve me but still acts so arrogantly. This fierce tiger is so shameless.
Inside Jicheng, Yuan Xi said to Zhao Yun, "I will go south to Guangling this time. Please, Zilong, stay in Youzhou."
Zhao Yun was puzzled and asked, "Isn't it the other way around?"
"Sir, as the lord, why do you always go to a place where wars are frequent?"
Yuan Xi laughed, "But I am the governor of Xuzhou now. Besides, Zilong may not be able to compete with me in the negotiation with Yuan Tan and Liu Bei, right?"
Zhao Yun was helpless, "But the battle on the border of Xuzhou is tense. What if someone tries to harm you, young master?"
"You even left the general Yan Rou in the north. If the enemy army approaches, it will be difficult to deal with it with only Ziyi as a general, right?"
Yuan Xi was also somewhat helpless. "What else can we do? The Hu tribe outside the Great Wall has been restless. If we don't put Guo Ran Yan Rou in Dai County, I'm afraid we won't be able to deal with it."
"Just before the New Year, we managed to subdue the Xianbei, but now the Northern Xiongnu are making trouble again. I'm afraid someone is instigating this, but the situation in Xuzhou is more urgent, so I can't take care of it for now."
Zhao Yun remained silent. He understood that some forces in the Han court might be obstructing this.
The Southern Xiongnu were fully dependent on the Han court, but with the entry of high-ranking officials into Bingzhou, the two sides had various interests and did not get along well. At this time, the Southern Xiongnu opened several gaps for the Northern Xiongnu to enter Youzhou and Bingzhou. It was unlikely that no one would play dirty tricks at that time.
Therefore, Yuan Xi could only transfer Tian Yu to Beixin City to rearrange the defense line. On the other hand, Zhao Yun was needed to command the Xianyu Fu brothers in Jicheng, on the one hand to prevent the Xianbei outside the pass from causing trouble, and on the other hand to intimidate the unreliable Gongsun Du family.
At the same time, Youzhou also needed a strategist to take charge. Guo Jia was good at political strategies, so he stayed behind to take charge of the overall situation. As a result, the number of people Yuan Xi could bring to Xuzhou was limited.
After much calculation, he could only take Ju Shou and Lu Xun with him. After looking around for generals, he found that only Lu Lingqi was available.
Yuan Xi couldn't help but complain that the situation in Youzhou was too bad. In order to guard against foreign invaders, several generals were wasted here!
He even thought maliciously that it would be better if Yuan Shikai failed in the Battle of Guandu two years earlier, so that he could legitimately recruit Zhang He and Gao Lan!
No matter what he thought, with the fall of the Yuan family, Yuan Xi would definitely suffer far more losses than gains, so Yuan Xi was so anxious now, because he found that the situation in the world was beginning to accelerate.
Although he did a lot of things, Cao Cao and even Yuan Tan had more powerful forces than in the same period in later generations.
Especially Yuan Tan's recent performance made Yuan Xi very unhappy.
Previously, because the other party allowed the Qingzhou pirates to kill innocent people indiscriminately, many merchant ships were slaughtered, which violated Yuan Xi's bottom line, so Yuan Xi took decisive action to wipe them out.
Now that the Qingzhou waters have been pacified, it is time to have a good talk with Yuan Tan.
But none of the three brothers are willing to be second to others, so it is very likely that there will be a battle in the end.
Thinking of this, he said to Zhao Yun: "The road from Jicheng to Yuyang Port has been paved several times and is very suitable for a quick march."
"Yuyang Port has always been equipped with extra warships. If there is a change in Xuzhou, we can send troops from Jicheng, go out to the sea at Yuyang Port, and then enter the port at Haixi. The whole process will only take a few days."
"If I really need Zilong's help, I will send someone to ask Zilong for help."
Zhao Yun heard this and said, "I will prepare my troops and horses and wait for you, sir."
He paused, "Of course I hope everything goes well for you, sir. It would be best if you don't need Yun."
Yuan Xi laughed out loud, "After Zilong got married, he can joke around now."
"Please let Zilong stay here. I will lead the troops to Guangling tomorrow."
Lu Lingqi was sitting in the room, wiping her armor carefully. Mrs. Du took the dirty cloth from Lu Lingqi's hand, washed it again in a wooden basin, and handed it back to Lu Lingqi.
Lu Lingqi wiped off the dust on the nail plates, then wiped off the water droplets with a dry cloth, then took out a piece of grease and spread it evenly on the nail plates.
Mrs. Du hesitated again and again, but finally mustered up the courage to ask, "Can I go with you, Madam?"
Lu Lingqi looked up and laughed, "Why are you going to the battlefield? To die?"
"With my martial arts skills, I can't even say I can escape unscathed, but I won't be able to protect you if the time comes."
Madam Du said, "Of course I know that I will be a burden if I follow you to the battlefield."
"I just want to stay in the city and help with some things when the girl comes back."
Lu Lingqi asked in confusion, "Why do you need to do this? Are you uncomfortable staying in Jicheng? Or are you angry with someone?"
Mrs. Du said hurriedly: "That's not the case. Everyone is very nice to me."
She lowered her voice and said, "All the women here are from the envoy's family. It's not a good idea for me, an unrelated person, to stay in the mansion all the time."
"It would be easier for Che if he followed the girl."