Chapter 68: Donglai Unification

  The news of the annihilation of Zong Bao's 10,000-strong army spread, and at first, those officials from Huang County and local tyrants wanted to keep it a secret, while they themselves were in a state of panic.

  They knew that the more than 3,000 defenders under their command were weak and powerless. If they learned about it, they would probably lose their combat effectiveness immediately. At this time, Huang Xian and others in Huang County, who were already desperate, frantically spread the cruel news of Gan Hui's army outside the city, and then gathered a large number of young and strong men, intending to make them cannon fodder.

  However, it was there that the people of Huang County already knew that Zhang Xu's military officers had entered at this time, so the news quickly spread to all the people in Huang County.

  "The Northern Sea's Kong Rong's army has already been annihilated by the city's outer army. I heard that the outer army is not some kind of demonic troop, but rather the benevolent army of Master Xian. Master Xian is not a demon, but the most compassionate person, who has come to bring happiness and prosperity to everyone. It's these local tyrants and evil gentry who are being targeted!"

  A few famous soldiers, young and strong, began to discuss in twos and threes, and their morale also quickly declined at a visible rate. The last county town, Huang County, still had more than 3,000 defenders, but it was already not taken seriously by Gan Hui and others.

  So they became the contact, launching a spy war that had not been launched for a long time. The more than 3,000 defenders were no longer able to achieve the effect of sharpening the army, but instead would cause more civilians to die and be injured due to their resistance. For Guan Hai and Wu Qing, who already regarded Donglai County as something in Zhang Xu's pocket, the death and injury of civilians was a painful thing for them. After all, most of these civilians could become Zhang Xu's followers!

  The more followers of the great Zhang Xuan, the better. For these future followers, it is naturally impossible to continue using the means of attacking cities, as there are too many casualties.

  Under the overwhelming public opinion of countless military gods, one by one, the soldiers were slowly shaken. Adding that they themselves were extremely unstable in their military heart, therefore, in the three-day formal Huangxian attack war, the defending troops had no resistance at all and simply put down their weapons. The county city of Huangxian was easily taken!

  After that, after a month of hard work, the entire Donglai County finally became Zhang Xu's territory, and the population resources under his command had exceeded 300,000!

  It must be said that the world of war is extremely cruel. In Donglai County, the number of people killed or injured in this battle is approximately 20,000, although it is far from the 200,000 casualties of the Yellow Turban Rebellion. However, it can still be seen how brutal the war was. This is under the premise that Guan Hai and Wu Qing followed Zhang Xu's orders as much as possible to avoid civilian casualties during the battle.

  War is undoubtedly so cruel, more crazy than ordinary people imagine, it's better to be a peaceful dog than a chaotic person, this is the true portrayal of war, every war is a thorough cleanup, a reshuffle of forces!

  The unification war of Donglai County has ended, but it's not like Zhang Xu can rest easy now. This is just the beginning, and the construction of the entire Donglai County is far more troublesome than the war!

  Firstly, it is the issue of grasping the remaining county towns. Now, due to the rapid expansion, the Tongzi Camp and other institutions he established have not yet cultivated more xian officials with management capabilities. Moreover, although the foundation of the believers has stabilized, it is extremely difficult to expand such a large operation all at once.

  Moreover, what's even more important is that Donglai County is vast and sparsely populated, and the population remains a fatal weakness. Winter wheat planting is about to begin, which is another huge problem. In one year, Zhang Xuhui has made every effort, but the number of draft cattle is still not sufficient, and there is still a huge gap.

  Now Zhang Xu is slightly worried, after all, the vast land of Donglai County, although it is a barren land in the eyes of outsiders, has deep plowing technology. This epoch-making technology makes the land of Donglai County have great potential.

  It can be said that the stall has expanded a lot now, except for some basic materials that can be supplied in sufficient quantities, and food can also be opened up to large-scale recruitment of refugees. Many aspects are seriously lacking!

  "Li Ming, how much land has been opened up in Guangwen County now?"

  Zhang Xu let out a faint sigh in his heart, no longer thinking about the many problems that needed to be solved. A meal was eaten one mouthful at a time, and things were also dealt with one by one. Now that Donglai County had been taken down, it would naturally not be allowed to fall into disuse.

  So Zhang Xu left to start inquiring, the most important thing to calm people's minds is actually solving the land problem, sowing seeds of grain, and also sowing hope, this is the best way to calm people's minds.

  "I report to Master Xianshi, we have already cultivated and planted 2 million mu of land, but there is still a gap of half of the expected 4 million mu of land!"

  Li Ming is now in charge of agriculture, from the deputy director of Qinglin Town's Agriculture Bureau to a position similar to the Minister of Agriculture under Zhang Xuji. Li Ming is very familiar with agricultural matters, so after thinking about it, he said it out loud.

  "Alright, Guangwen County has managed to do this in just five days, which is already a remarkable achievement. Here's what we'll do: out of the 10,000 oxen left for Guangwen County, we'll take out 8,000 and allocate them to the other counties. Additionally, we'll find a way to mobilize another 5,000 oxen from Chang County and Qinglin Town, and distribute them to the remaining counties. This time, the believers in these two counties will have to work harder. Let's set an example ourselves, officials, and lead everyone in overcoming this difficulty!"

  Zhang Xu nodded, and now there are 18,000 head of cattle under Zhang Xu's command. This time, 13,000 head were taken away, leaving one county with the remaining, which is the place where the two most devout followers are located, and 5,000 head of cattle were left behind, which has already reached the limit of these two places.

  "Immortal Master, is this still not enough for the rest of the county?"

  Li Ming thought for a moment and immediately reported the problem: "According to the decision of the immortal master, the remaining counties need to open up about 3.5 million mu of arable land, but these oxen are far from meeting the needs!"

  Upon hearing Li Ming's words, Zhang Xu also slightly furrowed his brow, then he spoke up: "Has the refugee issue been settled now? Let's fully recruit refugees, and if possible, we can even send people to Beihai to spread the word. Although we can't take over Beihai for now, it's still possible to plunder some of their population!"

  A bright light flashed in Zhang Xu's eyes, and then he said!