The Maojin knife from the late Jin Dynasty

Chapter 231 Trapped in an isolated city
Liu Tai patiently arranged the game against Shi Le and began to wait for Shi Le to prepare to end.

As for the matter of salt stamps, in ancient times it would not really shake the rule of a political power.

After all, it only drained the capital liquidity of the upper class in a short period of time, but for the people at the bottom, because they did not have access to such a large denomination of currency, it was nothing.

After all, if you want to do business with Liu Tai, for the convenience of transactions, you will inevitably gradually use salt stamps, a reputation currency with stable value.

Especially when Liu Tai's various luxury goods flowed to Shi Le's Han family, if they still followed the barter transaction method, there would be a lot of unnecessary losses on the way. As long as they were doing transactions, such flexible merchants would Salt votes will be accepted quickly.

But it is undeniable that the aristocratic family in this era followed the path of feudal manor economy. Basically, under the influence of Wubao, as long as the manor still existed, the manor itself could support the aristocratic family for a long time.

Even for some aristocratic families, these liquid funds are gone once they are gone, and only their wealthy families look down upon this money.

But this cannot be denied. As long as Liu Tai occupies the place where these aristocratic families are located, these food stamps that became waste paper under Shi Le will directly become spendable currency under Liu Tai's rule.

No one likes to lose money, especially for these aristocratic families.

Originally, they could just sit back and watch Liu Tai and Shi Le compete without helping each other.

The best thing I can do is wait until one side wins the competition and then surrender to the winner. After all, this is how the family has come, so there is no shame in it.

But now, because of Liu Tai's operation, they suddenly discovered that Shi Le and Liu Tai had not started fighting yet, and they had invested in Liu Tai inexplicably. At least if Liu Tai was destroyed by Shi Le, the salt ticket in his hand would be lost to Shi Le. Accept it?

Not to mention, if Shi Le and Liu Tai were in a stalemate, would Liu Tai still exchange the salt tickets if he was on Shi Le's side?

They were even a little worried. If they didn't help Liu Tai, would Liu Tai still recognize these food stamps after defeating Shi Le?
Even they understand that this is a good system for Liu Tai to control the family, but the family is a family, and individuals are individuals.

This salt stamp system may continue to exist, but won’t I be liquidated in a small way?

It can be said that this is enough to make some originally neutral aristocratic families slightly shaken or even biased.

It's not that Shi Le is from the Jie ethnic group and Liu Tai is from the Han ethnic group, and everyone prefers Liu Tai because of the cultural customs of the same ethnic group, but because both sides have common interests and prefer Liu Tai.

And this is Liu Tai's positioning for the family. Liu Tai doesn't expect the family to be loyal when he comes back, but at least our interests are one.

Shi Le understood this, and Liu Tai's strategy allowed his regime to have a large number of salt votes.

As long as there are people who doubt this thing, the salt stamps will not be used. But if these people don't doubt it, Shi Le can be sure that wherever Liu Tai's army goes, the aristocratic families under his rule will support him.

Liu Tai's move not only destroyed the normalcy of his rule, but more importantly, caused an inexplicable rift between himself and the aristocratic family.

Of course, if Shi Le was willing to spend money to make up for it, these aristocratic families would definitely support Shi Le.

But Shi Le couldn't fill so many aristocratic families. As for filling only one family, if he did this, it would definitely lead to alienation.

Therefore, now Shi Le is forced to fight Liu Tai or surrender to Liu Tai.

The purpose of destroying Liu Tai was to give the family confidence. As for surrendering to Liu Tai, the local family would have nothing to worry about.

In other words, Liu Tai's move actually acted as a catalyst.

Either he strengthens Shi Le and surrenders to himself, or he strengthens Shi Le and destroys himself.

Liu Tai knew very well that as he announced his rebellion against the Huns and Han, no, he was defending the Han.

Then we must get the entire north of the Yellow River into our hands as quickly as possible.

Otherwise, if he had been entangled with Shi Le for a long time, who knew how Liu Yao and Zu Ti from the south would react.

As for Shi Le, if he is really willing to surrender and give the entire foundation to himself, he is not Sima Yi. He must be true to his word, just like Liu Bang enfeoffed Yong Chi and Liu Xiu let Zhu Tuna go, he was willing to give Shi Le wealth.

When the time comes, it won't be a problem to let Wang Mi's hatred go. After all, public hatred is greater than mortal hatred.

But Liu Tai judged that Shi Le would not choose to surrender to him.

Because everyone has climbed up from the bottom, and a few are willing to give up their military power, hand over their lives to others, and let others take the initiative in their own destiny.

Liu Tai felt that he was the same type of person as Shi Le. Compared with himself, who was the son of a rebel thief, Shi Le's slave career was not much better.

At least if you are to the point where the other person is holding your throat, you will have to bite the other person even if you die.

Therefore, Liu Tai waited patiently for Shi Le, betting that Shi Le was ambitious and dared to fight. When he fell into adversity, he would find a way to grab the throat of fate and change his destiny!

In the following time, the entire Qinghe County became lively under the leadership of Yuan Yan, even because it was originally an important hub for transactions between Liu Tai and Shi Le.

Therefore, when the news of Shi Le's surrender to Liu Tai came out, the people of Qinghe County breathed a sigh of relief, and even took the initiative to assist Yuan Yan in organizing the ceremony.

And just as everyone was expecting it, Shi Le successfully gathered his soldiers from all sides, and even wrote to Liu Tai saying that he would send all the troops and horses over to Liu Tai to count them. I, Shi Le, also want to do something to defend the Han Dynasty. Make a contribution.

The letter was naturally delivered to Liu Ming. After Liu Ming saw the letter, he naturally understood Liu Tai's worries.

Liu Tai has handed over all his rights in Qinghe County to Liu Ming, as long as Liu Ming covers his absence from Qinghe County.

So he only verbally asked the person playing Liu Tai to say yes to the envoy through the curtain, and the envoy went back to report to Shi Le.

This made Shi Le feel a little suspicious, but Shi Le was always a suspicious person, and everything would take a turn in his mind, but he didn't say much.

Soon, the day came for Shi Le to come to Qinghe and surrender to Liu Tai. Liu Ming told Yuan Yan that Liu Tai would wait for Shi Le in Qinghe County and allowed Shi Le to enter the city with [-] personal guards.

Seeing Liu Ming's attitude, Yuan Yan thought for a moment, but felt that Shi Le's five hundred guards were enough.

Therefore, Yuan Yan went to meet Shi Le outside the city and told Liu Ming's conditions.

When Shi Le heard this, he said: "Of course this is what we should do, but please give us the gift first!"

Shi Le clapped his hands and soon saw a large wave of cattle, sheep and horses appearing in the army. Shi Le said to Yuan Yan,

"These livestock are my gifts to King Qi. Let these gifts go to the city first. I and the five hundred guards will follow immediately!"

Yuan Yan did not doubt Shi Le. After greeting the guards on the city wall, he saw these cattle, sheep and horses entering the city one after another.It has to be said that Shi Le spent a lot of money this time and had a lot of cattle, sheep and horses. When they pushed the wooden carts to the city gate and the entrance to the urn city one after another, these carts were directly stuck on the city gate.

At the same time, these soldiers beat the livestock severely, causing chaos among the livestock, and the city gate of Qinghe County could not be closed!
"Brothers, our glory and wealth are now!" Shi Le couldn't help shouting when he saw the scene in front of him.

Following Shi Le's words, Kong Chang led his war department to take the lead and kill directly into Qinghe County!
"This, this, this!" At this moment, Yuan Yan looked at the big change in front of him with an ugly expression, but he decisively saluted Shi Le beside him and said,

"King Zhao, you have suffered me so much. Qinghe County, which I have worked so hard to manage for several years, will be destroyed after today!"

When Shi Le heard Yuan Yan's words, he glanced at Yuan Yan and said with a smile:

"Don't worry, Governor Yuan. After the war, you will still need to manage this place. You will be more than just the Governor in the future!"

Yuan Yan looked at the situation in front of him and knew that the situation had been controlled by Shi Le at least in a short period of time.

Under such circumstances, Yuan Yan showed his value immediately, saying that he was there and the aftermath could be handled by him.

It can only be said that under normal safety conditions, Yuan Yan's IQ is only at the level of an ordinary person, and he has no doubt that Liu Ming sent someone to pretend to be Liu Tai to deceive him.

But as long as he falls into a crisis situation, Yuan Yan will calm down and his IQ will suddenly rise. The more critical the situation, the calmer Yuan Yan will handle it.

There was no hatred between Yuan Yan and Shi Le, and he was not even considered a political enemy. At most, he was just a messenger. Originally, he was just a middleman between Liu Tai and Shi Le.

Shi Le had the upper hand, and it was okay to rely on Shi Le to settle down first.

So Yuan Yan said decisively with a bit of flattery, "Thank you, King Zhao, for your gift. Yuan Yan is grateful."

Shi Le looked at Yuan Yan and said nothing more, but turned his attention to Qinghe County.

No matter what, Shi Le knew very well that Liu Tai occupied the Three Continents. If he didn't capture Liu Tai, then the price he would have to pay would be too high if he wanted to fight Liu Tai.

After all, for Liu Tai, the Yecheng where he was located was almost undefeated.

Liu Tai was afraid of Shi Le's cavalry, and Shi Le was also afraid of Liu Tai's undefeated golden body.

So in this collision, Shi Le can do his best.

Soon, Kong Chang and his troops took advantage of the wooden cart blocking the door and entered Qinghe County with overwhelming force.

Yuan Yan's Qinghe County soldiers collapsed in the chaos, unable to form any resistance at all.

But after Kong Chang's men rushed into Qinghe County, what they saw in front of them were rows of soldiers wearing shining silver armor.

These soldiers were tall and well-armed and well-armored. It was clear that his subordinates were all elites in Shile's army, but when facing these soldiers wearing armor, they couldn't help but feel inferior!

"Kill! They have been trapped in this city. They are all our people outside. Killing a Han soldier will reward you with ten gold coins. Killing Liu Tai can earn ten thousand households!"

At this time, Kong Chang announced Shi Le's reward to Liu Tai, thereby stimulating the willpower of the soldiers.

It has to be said that, stimulated by the wealth, these soldiers were all red-eyed.

For these low-level soldiers, the promises made by their generals will definitely come true. This is the experience and inertia accumulated from many years of following Kong Chang to kill people.

Therefore, at least for a short period of time, these soldiers definitely did not lack courage and fighting spirit, and they fought bravely forward!

However, Kong Chang looked at the armor of Liu Tai's army in front of him and understood that as long as Liu Tai's army remained fighting spirit, it would be very difficult for him to eat this group of people.

After all, the soldiers under his command don't know what kind of defense the soldiers with metal scale armor will have, so don't they, the general wearing scale armor, also know it? ?

So Kong Chang immediately asked the scouts to report to Shi Le, explain the situation here clearly, and ask for support!

In fact, as Kong Chang expected, the soldiers under his command were already elite, and the weapons in their hands were at least considered sophisticated among Shile's army. However, the weapons in their hands made a clanging sound when they struck the soldier's scales. It is very rare to say that someone actually cut through the opponent's fish scale armor!
What made Kong Chang feel even more incredible was that Liu Tai's elite group held iron swords in both hands. Although the soldiers under his command were not wearing fish scale armor like him, they were also wearing hard leather armor.

But when faced with the blade in the opponent's hand, the leather armor on the soldiers seemed to be fake. Once they touched each other, they were cut open directly by the opponent's sharp two-handed machete. Blood splattered, making them feel irresistible.

The soldiers under his command obviously have armor, but at this moment they seem to be just cannon fodder without armor!

Kong Chang felt happy and surprised in his heart. Kong Chang was sure that Liu Tai was in the city. After all, other than Liu Tai, whose personal guard wore such elite armor and had such a sharp blade that ignored the armor.

So Kong Chang gritted his teeth and ordered his personal guards to go up. After all, he had a steady stream of reinforcements, and Liu Tai could be trapped in the isolated city!

At this moment, Shi Le was also looking at the situation in the city anxiously. He originally thought that after taking the city gate and the urn city, Kong Chang's troops marched straight in, and they should soon take down the opponent.

But I never expected that even after Kong Chang entered for so long, the killing shouts in Qinghe County had not stopped yet.

This made Shi Le a little hesitant, not knowing what was going on inside!
At this time, Kong Chang's envoy came over and asked to see Shi Le. Shi Le quickly said, "Quickly pass!"

When Shi Le saw Kong Chang's envoy, he immediately said, "What's going on inside?"

"After General Kong Chang passed through Wengcheng, he encountered strong resistance from Liu Tai's army. These soldiers were wearing fish scale armor and holding sharp swords with both hands. General Kong Chang asked for support, otherwise our army would be driven back by Liu Tai's army!"

"Kong Dou, please lead two of you to lead five thousand troops each to support Kong Chang. Liu Zheng, Liu Bao, and Zhang Yanpu, you will lead the troops to control the four gates of Qinghe!" Shi Le gave the order to his troops, with a hint of expression in his expression. Take your time!

"I have the order!" The generals under Shi Le's command all took orders at this time.

Shi Le did not let his troops fill in because Qinghe County restricted all his troops from entering, and it was definitely not because Shi Le was afraid of death.

But no matter what, after confirming the armor on Liu Tai's army, Shi Le was certain that Liu Tai was definitely in Qinghe County.

After all, what is fish scale armor? Even I dare not say that all the generals above the rank of captain are wearing it. As a result, the entire army here is wearing fish scale armor. It is strange if they are not Liu Tai's personal guards!
As Shi Le began to recruit troops to Qinghe County, at this time, a burst of red fireworks began to rise into the sky in Qinghe County.

"Send out scouts to patrol the surrounding area for twenty miles. Liu Tai must have prepared an ambush to attack Qinghe County!"

Shi Le's expression changed when he saw the rising smoke. Even at this moment, Shi Le still firmly believed that Liu Tai was in Qinghe County.

(End of this chapter)