Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 841 Here Comes
On September 22, Zhu Quanzhong arrived in Jiugou.

In addition to the 6000 members of the Dragon and Tiger Army left behind in Bajiao Town, more than [-] main forces have gathered here.

The sky has cleared for two days, but it is still not conducive to the cavalry to drive, which makes Liang Jun a lot easier to go up and down.

It's not like they can't deal with cavalry, but they're really annoying and exhausting.The Xiongwei and Feisheng armies are all veterans, and they are relatively skilled in dealing with them, and they don't panic too much.But Longxiang, Longhu, and Tutuan Countryman were a little bit choked up, nervous, and didn't know how to allocate their physical strength reasonably, and didn't know when the enemy was bluffing and when it was serious. The most important thing was that they were afraid!
There is a lack of camping materials nearby.The [-] army split up and searched a long way to find a forest, so they gathered their hands and cut it all down.Large timbers are used for camping, and miscellaneous trees and branches are piled up as firewood.

Where the army fought fiercely, the forest was the first to be hurt.The more you fight, the more severe the damage will be. If you fight for dozens or hundreds of years, the forest coverage rate will drop by several percentage points.

"Have you not received news from the west?" Zhu Quanzhong was a little impatient and in a bad mood.

There was no reason for this bad mood, Zhu Quanzhong thought about it, but he didn't think there was any major problem, he could only say that maybe there was a will of God somewhere.

"The scout hasn't returned yet." Li Zhen replied.

After three days of marching, he was no longer as refreshed as when he first left the house.The shoes and boots were covered with mud, his face was oily, and his eyes were bloodshot. He looked like a poor man suffering from exhaustion.

"On a heavy rainy day, Xia's bandit cavalry is useless. The scouts shouldn't have found the news yet." Zhu Quanzhong sighed and said, "When you're ready, attack the bandit barracks first to test their quality."

The camps have already built vinegar ditches, if you say there is no problem, you are deceiving yourself and others.Why did the thief Xia set up a stronghold in Jiugou to block the troops coming from Bajiao Town?
As long as you think about it a little bit in this direction, you can come to many bad conclusions.Coupled with the lack of information, the west side is like a layer of fog, you don't know what happened - Zhu Quanzhong is not afraid to think from the worst angle, he thinks that Zhu Youyu's team may be in big trouble.

If that was the case, then he would have to come to the rescue.The Changzhi Army cannot be lost. These 1 people are Bianzhou's Dinghai Shenzhen, and they are the capital he relies on to turn the tables.As long as the money and food are sufficient, with 1 people as the core, it will not be a problem to recruit another 10 troops.It may be that the combat effectiveness is a little weak at the beginning, but as long as you cultivate it carefully, practice it strictly, and go to the battlefield to hone it more, it is not impossible to become a strong army.

As for the safety of the eldest son Zhu Youyu, this is not the point.Yes, Zhu Quanzhong thought so.The long straight army is the capital for him to maintain power and even make a comeback, but his son is not.

"Your Majesty, there is good news." Jing Xiang hurried in and said.

Zhu Quanzhong looked at the number one confidant whose hair was almost half white, and sighed silently.

Before leaving, he spent the whole night in the mansion with Mrs. Liu.This woman is already pregnant, and she can't tell who the father of the child is, but there are too many people who suspect it, ranging from a young man of fourteen or fifteen years old, to a 50-year-old veteran in the officialdom.

This slut is almost the public servant of the upper-level generals in Bianzhou...

By the way, because of this incident, Princess Zhang was very unhappy.In a fit of anger, she took her daughter-in-law Liu to live in the temple to pray for Youyu.

"Jing Sima, please sit down quickly." Zhu Quanzhong took Jing Xiang's hand and personally beckoned him to sit down.

"Your Majesty, good news." Jing Xiang sat down, smiling, and said, "Qingzhou captured Jinxiang County of Shanzhou in a surprise attack by Liu Wei, and killed more than [-] Xia thieves."

"Oh?" Zhu Quanzhong was a little surprised, and praised: "I thought that Ziqing Town would not be able to fight after Li Shidao, but there are such good generals. How did you win?"

"Liu Yan came out from Yanzhou and collected food and grass all the way. The momentum was great. Yanzhen refused to supply, and a conflict broke out between the two sides. The soldiers almost rioted, and it was heard from far and near. The people of Xia heard about it, and they were slack. They came out day and night. , Jian Dao raided Jinxiang and pulled it out." Jing Xiang said excitedly, as if he commanded this small victory.

"How many soldiers does Liu Po ​​have?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.

"There are more than [-] infantry and [-] cavalry. Recently, Tuoba Renfu and Li Ren wanted to lead more than [-] cavalry to the south, under the control of Liu Yan." Jing Xiang replied.

"Tuoba Renfu..." Zhu Quanzhong laughed suddenly, and said: "The Shao thieves used to send them eastward via Weibo to help Zhu Xuan defend Yun Town. After Luo Hongxin refused to borrow this way, Tuoba Renfu and Li Renyu went out. Haha, thief Shao also suffered from being dumb."

First Li Keyong, then Shao Shude, alternately sent troops to Yunzhou to help defend against the Xuanwu army, which made Zhu Quanzhong very angry.Unexpectedly, the world is changing, and no one thought that Tuoba and Li would stand on their own, and now they turn to fight Shao thief, so happy!
"Tuoba Renfu has gone south, have Zhu Jin, Zhu Wei, and Wang Shifan given up on besieging Puzhou?" Zhu Quanzhong asked.

"Exactly." Jing Xiang nodded, and said: "The [-] people from Xia Bandit Tielin and the Second Wuwei Army overwhelmed them, and they were all worried about their own lair, so they broke away from the siege one after another."

"In front of the enemy, instead of uniting as one, they are looking after themselves, alas." Zhu Quanzhong also sighed, angry at him for not fighting.

Back then, he still liked the three towns of Yun, Yan, and Xu very much and couldn't be completely united, but now he wished that the three towns of Yun, Yan, and Qing were one family, gathering more than [-] Yamen troops to fight the Xia bandits to the death.

"Let's not talk about this." Zhu Quanzhong said, "What do you think about the matter of Zhongmou?"

"Your Majesty, there is no doubt that Xia's bandits have increased their troops." Jing Xiang said decisively: "First send cavalry troops to cross the vinegar ditch, and set up a stronghold in the right place. Why? Block my reinforcements."

The meaning is very clear, the Xia army in the Jiugou camp is a blocking force, preventing the Liang army in Bajiao town from advancing towards Zhongmou.So here comes the question, what happened to Zhongmou?
This question is actually very good to understand.

Xia thief has actually "demonstrated" more than once.Build a city at Baisi Maban to prevent Luoyang's reinforcements from going north, so that they can try their best to besiege Huo Cun and his son in the southern city of Heyang.Set up a stronghold to garrison troops in Yingzigu to prevent Liang Jun from going to Luoyang in the direction of Xuanmen Pass, so as to besiege the defenders in Luokou and Gong counties with all their strength.

Thinking about it carefully, there is only one tactic Xia Zei has played today: fast maneuvering, using more to fight less, and using strong to attack weak.

This is Shao Shude's style.He never used any "soft" tactics such as people's hearts and deceit, but fully mobilized various resources to fight "hard" battles, straight to the point, but in line with the righteous way of war.

It is very likely that a siege battle is going on at Zhongmu, which is the unanimous judgment of everyone.

"The Changzhi army is good at fighting, so it will be fine in a short time." Zhu Quanzhong pondered for a while, and said: "Now we must clear the way as soon as possible. If there is a chance, we will send troops to Zhongmu City. At that time, my son will lead the Changzhi elite soldiers to bloom in the center. I supervise the fierce attack of the army, and it may cause the Shao thief to suffer a big loss, annihilating tens of thousands of his soldiers and horses. But—ah, it is only a temporary relief."

Jing Xiang was silent.

Annihilating tens of thousands of Xia troops could not reverse the decline, but only slightly improved the bad situation and gained more respite.It's hard to describe how well this battle was fought.

In fact, there was still one thing he couldn't bear to say, Chang Zhijun probably couldn't hold on for too long.

The failures of these years have been too severe, and the king has lost his keen judgment.Is the Changzhi Army today the same as it was ten years ago?Let alone ten years ago, the Chang Zhijun five years ago could easily defeat himself today.It is really not advisable to overestimate their combat effectiveness, otherwise they will suffer a lot.

After thinking about it, Jing Xiang still decided to speak out: "My lord, if the Xia bandits have [-] to [-] elite soldiers, supplemented by a large number of earth regiments, if they attack in turn, the Changzhi army may not be able to sustain it. But today it has cleared up, and in two or three Today, the bandit cavalry can attack everywhere again, and the situation is even more difficult. The vinegar ditch must be taken down as soon as possible."

"Your Majesty, the Changzhi Army cannot be lost. Please offer me a big reward and clear the way as soon as possible." Li Zhen also stepped forward and said.

Zhu Quanzhong nodded and said, "Let's go and see my boys."

After all, the big account was paid first.

The sergeants in the camp are eating.There is no more meat, only corn, rice and pickles, which is the standard meal for the soldiers during training.

The atmosphere in the camp was not very good.Seeing Zhu Quanzhong patrolling the camp in person, the officers repeatedly reprimanded those martial arts masters to put down their jobs and stand up to salute.

Zhu Quanzhong didn't take it seriously.When he first arrived in Bianzhou, the situation was even worse.Only five hundred yuan from the old man, the old Bian Song army was extremely rebellious, and it took a long time before and after it slowly gathered the army's morale and rectified it.

Xiongwei and Feisheng soldiers of the Second Army had resentment in their hearts, he knew that.But he can't change anything, he can only rely on generous rewards to win the hearts of the soldiers.For this reason, most of the years of accumulation in the treasury have been dispersed.His wife, Zhang Hui, even took the lead in taking out all the jewelry as military rewards—before the expedition, Zhu Quanzhong had already discovered that the last step on his wife's head was gone.

Military rewards, military rewards, and military use are becoming more and more insufficient.This is a systemic deadlock, linked to the loss of territory, that is difficult to resolve.

I don't know if Luo Hongxin can support another sum of money and silk, it doesn't need much, two or three million pieces of silk is enough, and it can help him solve too many problems.

Zhu Quanzhong was preoccupied with many things, and his mind kept turning.

Until then, even though he sighed, even though he was discouraged, he still did not give up, and was still thinking hard about a way to turn things around.Perhaps, this perseverance and indomitable temperament are important factors for his success.

Even if he was the only one left, already alone, he didn't intend to give up.As long as you are alive, you have a chance to make a comeback.

On September 23, Liang Jun, who had gained a firm foothold and secured his camp, launched an offensive.

Thousands of Bianzhou Tutuan villagers took the lead and launched a fierce attack on the Jiugou camp guarded by the guards.

Meng Zhixiang, deputy Wanhu, was calm and composed, personally commanded the battle, and launched a bloody offensive and defensive battle with Liang Jun.

After two or three consecutive days of clear weather, the road conditions improved greatly, and the cavalry became active again.Thousands of cavalry from the right wing of the guards and cavalry were scattered everywhere, pulling nets to hunt and kill Liang Jun's scouts and rangers.

Under such circumstances, the left wing of the Tianxiong Army quietly arrived five miles west of Jiugou, approaching the battlefield step by step.

(End of this chapter)