Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 432
Fine snowflakes floated from the sky and fell on the forest valley.

The Zhejia army is very curious, will it snow in the south?

Of course, they are not sure whether Junzhou is the south or the north, maybe it is the junction.

The army made rapid progress, and arrived in Yunxiang in three days, and occupied it without bloodshed.

Then they collected boats, went down the river, and arrived at Junzhou City in one day.

The troops in the city were few and weak, and they had just received the news of the defeat, and there was a mess in a panic.

The old department of Lu Ye, the former governor, opened the city gate and let the soldiers of Zhe family enter the city, and Junzhou was pacified.

There is also Fengli County, which is not very far from Shangjin. General Li Tong sent 500 people to help occupy it.

In this battle, Feng Xing's attack department was beheaded and killed 700 people, and the rest were captured. It can be said that the entire army was wiped out.

Feng himself was very unfortunate. When he was dragged by the horse, his head hit a tree and a rock, and he died...

Together with the general Quan Shilang, the two sons were all prisoners.

The crusade against Junzhou ended in such a jaw-dropping way. I don't know how the Xingyuan soldiers and Jin Shang soldiers who were still on their way would feel after hearing this.

In this place of Junzhou, you are a child in your early years!

Sun Xi crossed the river alone, but was beheaded by Feng Xingxi.Feng Xingji wanted to attack Shangzhou by surprise, but was ambushed by Zhe Zongben.

It would be great if wars in the world could be done so simply and neatly. The most feared thing is the tug of war.

The first thing Zhe Zongben did after he entered the city was to summon the officials and assistants in the city to comfort him with warm words, and everyone kept them, and everyone felt at ease.

When foreign soldiers go to a place, it is not enough to rely on force to suppress it. It is best to get the support of the local people, at least not strongly opposed, so as to gain a firm foothold.

Those who don't understand this, such as Sun Ru, will collapse sooner or later.

This guy abandoned his old nest in Yangzhou, drove men, women, old and children across the river, occupied Suzhou, and smashed Yang Xingmi in Guangde.

Traveling secretly is also hard work, so he can only send people to Jiangbei to clean up the land that Sun Ru abandoned, because he feels that the place that Sun Ru has harmed will be safer, although it is dilapidated.

Sun Ru stayed in Suzhou for some days, then burned and plundered Suzhou and Changzhou, and drove the soldiers to Xuanzhou, the old nest of Xingmi.

Qian Liu only sent people to occupy Suzhou after confirming that Cai Bing had left.

Cai Bing broke the travel secrets outside Xuanzhou repeatedly, and the travel secrets withdrew from Xuanzhou, and asked Qian Liu for help. Qian Liu provided Yang Xingmi with military rations out of a cold heart.

At this time, Cai Bing set up a big camp outside the city, and surrounded Xuanzhou tightly. He dared not go out of the city because of secrets, and could only resign himself to fate.

"Emissary Li, this old man is new here, so I'm not very familiar with the geography of the eastern province of Shannan." Zhe Zongben asked Li Tong, who came with him, "How about the land route from Junzhou to Xiangyang? What about the water route?"

"Hui Zhe Shuai, from Junzhou to Xiangyang 360 miles, to no one by land, all by boat." Li Tong's attitude became more and more respectful. Feng Xingxi caused so much trouble to Li and his son, but when he came, With a small plan, this scourge was wiped out.

"There is no land route?" Zhe Zongben was a little surprised.

"The land route has to take a long and narrow path, which is rugged and difficult to navigate, and there are many beasts, so it is not as fast and convenient as the water route." Li Tong explained: "Whether it is a large army passing through the border, or a public or private trip, all boats travel on the Han River to and from Jun and Xiangzhou. Now that the river is not frozen, it is possible to travel by boat and reach Xiangyang in a few days."

When Zhe Zongben heard it, he knew it well.

Junzhou is in the upper reaches, and it is convenient and quick to go down the river. It can reach Xiangyang within a few days, and the transportation of logistics materials will not be a drag.

What a place!
"Li Shijun will explain the waterway to Xiangyang in detail for the old man."

"It should be explained in detail by Ling Gong." Li Tong said: "Sixty miles down the river from Wudang, Junzhou, there is a place called "Xiaojiangkou", which is the place where Danshui flows into Hanshui. I have no interest in local government affairs. You may as well gather your troops and occupy this place, build a city and set up a stronghold to defend it. There are many deep mountains and valleys nearby, and it is not easy to travel. If there is a strong stronghold, it will be difficult for the bandits to capture it in a hurry. , and I can ship soldiers, money and food from Shangzhou, and I can also send reinforcements from Junzhou. After leaving this small river mouth, the road is smooth and enters the boundary of Xiangzhou, which is densely populated and relatively rich."

Of course, this wealth is relative, after all, it is a place where Cai Bing has suffered misfortune.Although Zhao Dezhen was not as outrageous as Qin Zongquan and Sun Ru, the disaster he caused back then was not a small one. After several years of recuperation, he has recovered a little bit of vitality now.

"Since Xiaojiangkou is so important, I should set up a stronghold to garrison troops." Zhe Zongben had 2000 soldiers on hand, and he was planning to pick [-] from the surrendered soldiers, add them to the elite soldiers brought over, break up and reorganize, and so on. There are [-] troops, but it still seems a little small.

We can only wait for the follow-up army to arrive.

This road is the road where the son-in-law is outstanding, but you have to be careful.Once he took control of the land of Xiang and Deng, Zhu Quanzhong would be under the enemy's back and forth, making it difficult to parry.

But the question is, how can the Zhao family not be allowed to vote for Quanzhong?It seems difficult.

……

Shao Shude has not received any news from Junzhou.

But he has high hopes for this journey, and he doesn't know what kind of scene Zhezong will create.

Leaping thousands of miles into the Dabie Mountains is such a stroke of genius.

The only thing to worry about is the supply problem, and the limit is only three or four thousand soldiers.Even if the gold merchants are closer to support, there are only 5000 people.

What's more, why did Jinshang Town raise soldiers for you?They also have a heavy burden, and they also have a lot of soldiers to support, although their combat effectiveness is not very good.

Those who can really rely on it are actually Wudang and other three counties.

If you want to really develop, you still need to occupy more land. It is best to continue to advance and rely on the wealth of the eight counties of Xiangzhou to support the army and gradually develop and grow.

Xiangzhou has a flat terrain, dense water network, and many fertile fields, which have an economic foundation to support the army's campaign.

Then cooperate with the north side, one south and one north, exhausted and loyal.

Along the way, Shao Shude granted Zhe Zongben full power, whether to fight, how to fight, and where to fight, he decided on his own.

After all, it is another battlefield, Shao Shude must not have Zhe Zongben to understand the actual situation on the front line, isn't it Chang Kaishen who commanded blindly?

What he cares about now is the battlefield in Henan.

Li Kuangwei raised an army, with a total of [-] infantry and [-] cavalry.

According to the latest news, Helianduo betrayed his old face and recruited a bunch of "hunters and dog friends" from the prairie to take them south to the east of the river to make a fortune, with a total of more than [-] riders.

Helianduo attacked Lanzhou and killed Liu Huzi, the envoy of the Zhelu army.

Li Kuangwei attacked Weizhou and besieged day and night.

Li Ke had to retreat.

In the Battle of Baixing, Zhu Quanzhong's general Zhang Shensi commanded more than [-] troops, confronted Li Cunxiao and An Jinquan, and fought bloody battles, but he was still unable to cut off the return route.

After Li Ke used his unified force to return to the north, they fled.

Uh, Li Keyong left behind Kang Junli, and Kang Junli kept Li Han's queen...

Thinking about it carefully, Li Ke used several times to lead the army, attacked Xingzhou, and retreated quickly before the enemy twice. He also sent people to meet An Jinjun in the battle with Youzhou. He has never been chased by anyone. Can.

Li Keyong retreated, news came from the silver guns that the army in Ruzhou was gathering one after another, the number of troops was hard to tell, but at least no less than 3 people, maybe more, it should be Pang Shigu brought back from the south.

Shao Shude only hated that Yang Xingmi hadn't risen yet, so he couldn't put pressure on Zhu Quanzhong in Huainan, otherwise Pang Shigu would be able to bring his troops back so gracefully?
It's time to make more contacts in the future, and let the sage promote Yang Xingmi when he goes back, and the Jiedu envoy of Xuanshe is no longer needed, and he will go directly to the Jiedu envoy of Huainan.Zhu Quanzhong occupied Shou and Chu prefectures in Huainan, among which Chu prefecture was still an enclave, and there was a "territorial dispute" with Yang Xingmi. This was an opportunity.

"See you, Commander!" Shao Shude dispatched his envoy Kuaima to convene a meeting of the future leaders, including Zhe Siyu, Yeli Yulue, Xia Sanmu, Xu Hao, Li Tangbin, Fu Cunshen, Yang Can, Zang Dubao, Niu Li, etc. Come here one after another.

Discussions of this scale cannot be held frequently, and it is impossible for the commanding general to stay by the coach's side every day. Generally, this is only done when important decisions need to be made.

"Pang Shigu and Ge Congzhou assembled a large army in Ruzhou, and they are about to enter the Luoshui River Valley to threaten my flank. In the direction of Heyang, the Jin army has retreated, and Zhu Zhen's victorious army will move west at any time. Perhaps this time has already come. .Quanzhong had already mobilized troops to Luoyang in the later period of the Bian-Jin War, and the commander was Hu Zhen. The two forces might merge, and the number of troops should not be less than [-]. Quanzhong, this is coming here with all our strength. "It was Chen Cheng, deputy envoy of Shuofang Jiedu, who introduced the situation to the generals.

"Are the Tianping Army, Taining Army, and Wuning Army dead? They won't even move?" Xu Hao yelled with a big mouth, and everyone laughed.

Shao Shude looked at it and found that it was very good and the morale was not bad.

Since the expedition, they have repeatedly defeated the enemy, captured more than [-] hu of military food, [-] people in Henan Province, and a lot of property.

"The Tianping Army and the Taining Army should have lost the strength and courage to take the initiative to attack. Wuning Shipu should not be able to do it anymore. He is still facing pressure from the Ding Club, which is useless." Shao Shude added beside One sentence: "Don't pin your hopes on others, it will kill you."

"Military Envoy Zhe, what's the situation with Hu Zhen's troops now?" Shao Shude asked.

"After Liu Han's 3000 men were defeated, his main force stayed put and stationed in the east of Luoyang. The last general sent rangers to check, but was driven away by bandits. There should be cavalry coming up. However, bandits don't like fighting, so they drove away I just ride around, like a dog." Zhe Siyu replied.

The generals laughed again.

Zhu Quanzhong was afraid that he would not be willing to continue to consume precious cavalry.

He inherited the old cavalry from Xuanwu and Xuanyi towns, and sent Pang Shigu to Ziqing and Huaixi to recruit cavalry to form new cavalry. Soldiers, and maybe some nest troops surrendered, this is all his cavalry strength.

The surrendered soldiers from Cai, Yun, and Yan towns were taken to Henan by Ge Congzhou. Now I don't know how many are left, but they are all assembled in Ruzhou.

The cavalry pawns around Hu Zhen are probably the left and right Desheng troops.

Zhu Quanzhong, there is a source of soldiers who are good at riding, mainly "Huaiyi".There are also cavalry talents, such as the professional cavalry family represented by He Delun.But he has only been in charge of horse affairs for a few years, and the number of horses is seriously insufficient, which is the most important factor restricting his cavalry troops.

He can't be allowed to get Ziqing Town again!
There are a lot of horses in that place, and like Huaixi, when Hou Xiyi and Li Zhengji led more than 1 people from Liaodong Fuhai to the south, they are all descendants of the Pinglu Army that suppressed Khitan all the year round, and the cavalry heritage is profound.

"With the reinforcement of the main force of Quanzhong, Hu Zhen should go westward, but he may not be able to be the coach." After thinking for a while, Shao Shude ordered: "The iron cavalry continue to harass and delay, but don't fight the thieves head-on. , unless there are military cavalry on the side."

It is obviously impossible for the cavalry to belong to the army. It is assigned to the infantry and has a limited range of activities. It is difficult to go to the east of Luoyang.

"The Zhongshun Army has nearly [-] people, and their families have all moved away. All ministries are ready to suppress any rebellion. The people in Mianchi have all moved away." Shao Shude did not want to maintain a fragile superficial relationship with these people. Yes, it's actually impossible.

"The whole army retreated to the Erling area of ​​Xiaoban, and the Chinese army stationed in Huguo Village."

Of course, there is something particular about why they settled in Huguo Village, because this is a strategically important place.

From Huguo Village to the southeast, through several dangerous areas, you can reach the Luoshui River Valley, and then turn northeast to Luoyang.This is also a route for the emperors of the country to go to Luoyang for food, and there are many palaces along the way.

Going east from Huguo Village is the route Shao Shude took at this time. Along the way, there are also palaces such as Zigui and Xiuling. The emperor sometimes took this route to Luoyang for food.

This is a crossroads to rush.If the army from Ruzhou is coming, it is most convenient to go straight to Huguo Village.

Of course, there are other ways, which can be directly inserted into the rear of the Shuofang army, or even inserted into Shanguo, cutting the back of the Shuofang army into three or five sections.

The mountains in those places are unfavorable for cavalry to drive, and the infantry of the Bian army can calmly guard the dangerous terrain and cut off the return route of the Fang army.

"Marshal—" Chen Cheng hesitated for a moment, and said, "Is it too risky? The people's walking speed is not as fast as that of the army. If the Ruzhou Bian army takes the Xiong'er Mountain and Erwei Mountain mountain roads, our cavalry will have nothing to do with it." , and there are too many places for the Bian army to choose to break my way back, and they are all easy to defend and difficult to attack."

"At the end, the commander-in-chief, please retreat to Xiashi first." To Shao Shude's surprise, Niu Li, the deputy envoy of the Tianxiong Army, suddenly stood up and said: "Our army is small, and we have gone too far, and the road behind is very long. Unsteady. We can lose the army today, but we must not lose the commander. Please retreat to Xiashi County and lead the remaining army to meet us. At the end of the day, the general wishes to lead the Tianxiong army to evacuate the people here, and he will fulfill his mission."

Zang Dubao was a little surprised, Niu Li actually stood up before he, the military envoy, spoke.

So he hurriedly said: "Commander, please rest assured, all five thousand members of the Tianxiong Army are determined to fight to the death, and they will not disgrace their mission."

"Maybe I'm too greedy." Shao Shude stretched out his hand, let them sit down, and said: "At present, it seems that the biggest threat is not the [-] main force that Zhu Quanzhong may bring, but Pang Shigu and Ge Congzhou. This army gathered in Ruzhou."

Just as he was about to continue talking, Zheng Yong, the tenth personal soldier, suddenly walked in and reported: "Marshal, Li Ke sent someone to send a messenger. The Bian army messenger they captured in Heyang was brought to Shaanxi. Guo's secret letter."

"Here." Shao Shude reached out to take the letter, and read it twice carefully.

After reading it, I was silent for a while, but I didn't see anything, but the expression on my face was extremely rich.

"Deal with this letter and send it to Lingbao intact. It should be for Zhu Jian. I will set off immediately and return to Shanguo."

In fact, it doesn't matter whether you send it or not, because Zhu Quanzhong can't send only one messenger.

This is a big crisis, but there is opportunity in it.

　The last two or three paragraphs were slightly revised. After posting, I felt that there was a loophole, so I changed it.

　
(End of this chapter)