Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 412 Westward Journey
Outside Tao Lin Sai, the pines and cypresses are green and the flowing water is gurgling.

Dozens of sergeants were driving carts, talking and laughing.

They stopped at the edge of a valley.

This valley is fifteen miles long from east to west, and there are many cliffs on both sides, like knives and axes.The valley is very narrow, deep and dangerous like a letter, just like the Yuanwanggou and Jingou near Tongguan.

There are actually many such terrains in the northwest, and people call them "plateaus".The top of the plateau is very flat and can be used for living and farming, but it lacks water.The plateau is surrounded by cliffs, straight up and down, and there is a narrow, deep and dangerous valley road between the plateaus.

After the sergeants rested for a while, they began to pick up branches and cut down miscellaneous trees.

This deep and dangerous canyon is like a gap in the ground. It used to be an important traffic road, and a related city was built, named "Hangu Pass". Without seeing the sun, it has become a firewood harvesting place for nearby soldiers.

Woodcutter mining is not a good job, even among the auxiliary soldiers, not many people are willing to do it.Those who will come here are either old, unskilled, or simply squeezed out.

Everyone talked and laughed loudly during the rest, and they were weak when they were working. When they were about to rest for the second time, a large group of cavalry rushed towards them in the distance.

The crowd quickly gathered and discussed.

The clever man climbed up the tree, looked around, and said: "There are thousands of riders, and they are going to Taolinsai."

"You can count? How do you know there are thousands of horses?"

"Why did you go to Taolinsay?"

"Is it the Shuofang army? Don't they have a place to live, and they want to grab our place?"

"Don't fight Bianbing, what are you doing to grab our place?"

No one can tell why.

Taolinsai is an abandoned camp of the Shanguo Army. It is near the former site of Qinhangu Pass. To the east is a [-]-mile-long dangerous valley road with pines and cypresses like a forest without seeing the sun. To the west is also a valley road leading directly to Tongguan. It is relatively open, and there is a peach forest in it, so it gets its name.

The cavalry rushed forward, and soon they were outside the Taolin Fortress.They didn't think the camp was dilapidated, so they immediately occupied it.

At the same time, an army was separated and went straight to the Weijin Ferry, three miles northwest of Lingbao County, and occupied it.

This ferry is the key point of Dahejin Ferry, which can directly lead to the middle of the river. The Shanguo Army set up 200 sailors here, and they were directly driven away.

Taolinsai and Xijin were not the only two places they occupied. In fact, Quwo, Xindian and other places on the main road were divided into guards.

Zhu Jian, the Shaanxi general stationed in Lingbao County, was a little panicked, so he went to Lisuo Shan County in person that day to see Jieshuai Wang Gong.

The Shuofang Army's posture does not move the city, but occupies all the key passes of Guanjin. If they want to, the connection between the counties will be cut off. What is this going to do?Excuse me, why borrow it like this?

Wang Gong was admiring the dancer's performance in the mansion, and when he heard that Zhu Jian had come, he was a little unhappy.

"Zhu Si, what are you doing here again?" Wang Gong got up and came to the festival hall, looked at Zhu Jian who was anxious, and wondered: "Could it be that there are soldiers making trouble?"

"Why does the commander dare to sit still? Tens of thousands of Shuofang troops flooded into Guozhou and guarded the key areas of Guanjin everywhere. If you don't see the east coming out to fight Bianbing, isn't it the old story of falsely attacking Guozhou?" Zhu Jian didn't hesitate, and directly sent He expressed his concerns.

"An Zhijian went to Chang'an by way of the Tianping army, but was attacked by Zhu Xuan, and three thousand troops were wiped out on the river. Shao Shude's worries are not unusual. He has written to me, saying that he will guard the passes to guard the grain roads, and there is nothing wrong with him. He meant it. From this point of view, he should be worried that I will use up the Shanguo army to break his way back." After thinking for a while, Wang Gong said: "Did the Xia soldiers ever kill or wound my Shanguo soldiers?"

"No." Zhu Jian replied after thinking for a while.

"Don't worry about it beforehand. People have been let in. I have no more than [-] soldiers in town, and they are scattered all over the place. How can I fight against them?" Wang Gong raised his right hand, tried to stroke his beard a few times, but put it down again, and finally sighed. In a low voice, he said: "Just don't do anything, and gather people in the two state cities. My father is the commander in the river, how dare Shao Shude take my foundation? Once tens of thousands of soldiers cross the river and go down the river, they will lose their way back." , he dare not."

Zhu Jian was stunned, as if there was some truth to it, but she always felt that there were still some problems.

But the coach said so, what can he do?In the end, he could only leave unhappy.

He was not in a hurry to return to Lingbao, but returned to his mansion first.

These generals from other towns lead troops abroad, and their families are in Shan County, which is convenient for the commander to monitor, and it often takes a long time to go home.

His wife, Mrs. Zhang, was very happy to see her husband come back, and immediately sent someone to prepare a banquet.

Halfway through the banquet, a guest came who claimed to be Zhu.

At first Zhu Jian thought it was a fake relative who was attached to him under a false name, but he still thought to himself, I don't have many family members, and if you still come to attach yourself, you are looking for your own death.

However, after the guest reported his family name, Zhu Jian turned pale with shock, and immediately led him into the study for a secret conversation.

……

Outside Shihao Town, the Tun General opened the gate of the village and welcomed people in.

There are barracks, hot water, food and horse feed in the village.

The Tuntian soldiers gathered the horses together, loosened their girths, and fed some bran and bean cakes according to the requirements of the cavalry governor.

There is a young horse in Henan, and the king of Dongping County handles horse affairs and has set up several horse farms.But after all, the time is short and the background is not enough. It would be great if it can be as prosperous as Pinglu and Chengde's Ma Zheng.

War horses are precious resources, more expensive than people.

Cai people who dare to fight and fight are everywhere, but war horses that can charge and run are rare.

The land of Lingxia is probably the opposite of Henan.

Xie Yanzhang gnawed at the bread, and at the same time seized the time to judge the military situation.

According to reliable news, the Shuofang army has entered Shaanxi and has a large number of soldiers and horses.

There are many advantages and disadvantages.

Xie Yanzhang followed his adoptive father to fight everywhere, and almost never had an advantage in military strength, and every time he fought in a disadvantaged situation.

In the latest rescue of Luzhou, more than a thousand fine riders took advantage of trails to avoid the eyes and ears of the Jin army, broke into Luzhou City, and joined Feng Ba, which surprised Li Keyong.

After Zezhou withdrew from the siege, they led Feng Ba's elite troops to break through the siege and go south.Careful and bold along the way, he dispersed the Jin soldiers who were intercepting him face to face several times, and finally successfully broke through to Heyang.

I don't know how the Xia soldiers compare to the Jin soldiers. If they are not elite enough, the more people there are, the worse it will be.

He suddenly remembered the Xia Army cavalry he had seen in Guanzhong, they were very elite.Among the Xuanwu Army, probably only Tabai can match it.

But the people under him are not bad either.Several detours and raids were made, and the enemy was defeated every time.

In a few days, we will face Xia Bing. Is the cavalry army we saw back then still there?

"Qidu, it's time to go." Liu Kangyi (yì) led the horse over and reminded.

"Do you know the strategy? If the battle goes against you, how to go and where to meet. If you retreat, do you remember where to retreat?" Xie Yanzhang raised his head and asked.

"Remember, I won't run around indiscriminately." Liu Kangyi is also a veteran. He entered Guanzhong with Huang Chao at the beginning, and later went to Bian with the King of Dongping County. He belongs to the core of confidantes.

"Call the officers from all battalions and teams." Xie Yanzhang didn't listen, and directly ordered all the cavalry generals under his command to gather.

"If Xia's soldiers are very sharp and the attack is not going well, where can we retreat?" Xie Yanzhang asked randomly, pointing at one person.

"Retreat to the Second Tomb of Xiaoban," the man replied.

"Where is the Second Mausoleum of Xiaoban?" Xie Yanzhang asked one more person.

"Hu Guo Village."

"Do you know how to get there? If you run away at night and don't know the direction, what should you do?"

"They all brought guides, not just one."

"Xia has a lot of soldiers and horses, and they are in a hurry to pursue them, so what should we do?"

"You can use Tuntian Fortress to resist."

"Can you remember the location of each fort?"

"Remember."

"I don't believe it, let's hear it."

Xie Yanzhang took great pains, and asked seemingly trivial but very important questions. After seeing that everyone could answer them fluently, he was relieved.

The others, whose impression was reinforced during their question and answer, should all know what to do.

"Let's go!" Xie Yanzhang called everyone to get on their horses and left in the dust.

They brought a lot of unloaded horses, just to be able to maintain mobility.But Xie Yanzhang was still unable to achieve one person with two horses, which made Xie Yanzhang feel regretful, so he had to buy more war horses from the Hebei feudal clans.There are also many horses in Pinglu Town, which can also be purchased.

……

Outside Luoyang City, Zhang Quanyi was seeing Ge Congzhou off.

Ge Congzhou took 4000 stronger men from the yamen army, and at the same time drew [-] brave men from the state soldiers and Tuntian soldiers, including [-] crossbowmen, and set off westward with the temporarily collected baggage vehicles.

This fake father and son really dare to risk their lives!Zhang Quanyi was filled with fear.

According to his thinking, Xia Jun hadn't come yet, so he should repair the city, strengthen the walls and clear the fields, so that there would be nothing to plunder.

Their food road is so long, if they can't get supplies from Henan Mansion, they will soon be unable to support them.

Ge Congzhou agreed to this, and ordered to immediately fortify the walls and clear the fields, leaving only rations for the people to survive.If Xia Bing wants to rob, he will rob it. If the people can't survive, it is their fault.

Of course, the common people are not that stupid, they will definitely try to hide the food, or simply hide in the mountains with the food.

Henan Prefecture is not entirely a plain terrain. In fact, there are many mountains, and there are many places to hide.

But it doesn't matter, as long as this is done, the possibility of Xia Bing getting food supplies can be greatly reduced.

Fortunately, someone provided information, and Shao Shude didn't dare to fully trust Wang Gong, Wang Chongying and his son, so he was not caught off guard.

Seven thousand troops walked on Tongyi Avenue leading to Shanzhou.

Ge Congzhou looked at the soldiers carefully, and finally the Yajun could see through them, but the state soldiers and Tuntian soldiers could only be said to be so-so, and they were selected for fighting.Picking the rest, you can only defend the city. If you encounter the Shuofang army, which has not experienced major losses and has many veterans, it is estimated that it will be defeated.

On the 22nd, the army arrived in Xin'an County, received grain supplies, and then marched west to Mianchi County.

There are more than two thousand troops garrisoned here.

Ge Congzhou stayed here for a day, inquired about the news, and then left the city to the northeast.

After walking for a day, seeing that it was getting dark, he immediately ordered a U-turn, and the whole army headed south to Yongning County.

(End of this chapter)