Late Tang Dynasty Floating Life

Chapter 975 Pursuit
The movement of the Jin army's retreat was not small, and was soon discovered by the Xia army's scouts.

Guan Kairun and Xia Sanmu made a decisive decision and selected 3000 troops to attack the second army of Zhangqian and Shenjie. The bandit army guarded the camp, and the attack ended in failure.

The Zhangqian army still has [-] cavalry, and the Shenjie army has [-] soldiers, not much less than the Xia army in Daning City.

On the [-]th, the [-] black troops who had been left behind gathered up, recovered Madouguan, occupied Yonghe County, and threatened the Jin army from the flank.

On the same day, the Jinglue Army and the Heiji Army launched an attack again. The enemy's front army had already retreated the night before, leaving more than [-] soldiers of the Czech Army alone.

After half a day of fierce fighting, the bandit army was defeated.

Ma Sixun, Marquis of Yu, the capital of the Heishi army, led his troops to pursue and beheaded more than a thousand people.Unexpectedly, extreme joy begets sorrow, and in the process of continuing the pursuit, he got up, fell down and returned, and suffered heavy losses.Ma Sixun was hit by several arrows and was seriously injured.

In this way, everyone dare not chase.

On the [-]th, Lu Huaizhong personally led more than [-] people from the right wing of the Wuwei Army to Daning. At the same time, he also brought the latest news: they captured Jin general Li Sibi in the mountains east of Jichang, but Li Chengsi was still missing.

After listening to the report, Lao Lu just nodded and didn't express any opinions.

An organized retreat is of course not the same thing as an unorganized retreat.

Of course, retreating in a mountainous area with complex terrain is not the same as retreating on an unsheltered plain.

Zhongfu can be said to be careless and careless, but it is unavoidable.

If you are cautious everywhere, sometimes you will miss the opportunity to chase and kill, and you can only rely on the judgment of the general.

"How many people are there in the second army of Jinglue and Heishi?" Lu Huaizhong asked.

"There are more than [-] people." Xia Sanmu replied.

This is counting the 500 people who were left behind before, and the hundreds of auxiliary soldiers who were grazing outside.

"There are still 5000 people in our department." Guan Kairun replied.

But there are only three thousand in Daning.Among the [-] chasing and suppressing remnants of the enemy, [-] were on the way back to Jian from Wucheng, and [-] cavalry stayed behind at Longmen.

"En." Lu Huaizhong nodded again, still cherishing words like gold.

The three armies of Wuwei, Jinglue, and Heizhu lost about 700 people, and the number of captured and beheaded enemy troops should be more than [-], perhaps more.

Of course, this data is definitely not in line with Kang Junli.Because people don't regard Tutuan villagers as human beings, and don't count these brave men who have swords and guns, can defend the village, and attack the city into the number of their own troops.

When Li Chengsi was besieged, there were 2000 Jin soldiers in the camp, consisting of [-] Yamen troops including Kuangba and [-] Cixi Township Yong.At the time of the breakout, there were only [-] soldiers left, and the entire army was finally wiped out.In this battle, according to the statistics of the Jin army, they only lost [-] people. According to the statistics of the Xia army, they beheaded [-] people, which is quite normal.Because I did wipe out [-] people face to face, why don't the [-] Xiangyong count?People can't shoot arrows or can't kill people?
"How many Jin soldiers are there in Hengcheng?" Lu Huaizhong asked again.

"There are more than ten thousand soldiers." Xia Sanmu replied.

This number is not guaranteed, because it was learned by torture of prisoners, and it may change at any time.

"What about the composition?" Lu Huaizhong asked.

Are the so-called "more than ten thousand Jin soldiers" really more than ten thousand Yamen troops, or are they mixed with state and county soldiers, Fan soldiers, and village braves?
Do Fanbing have a military number?If you have a bugle, you must treat it with caution. If you don't have a bugle, you are brave.

Is the Xiangyong the Xiangyong of the Hedong states, or the Tutuan who was forced by Cixi?
They are all Jin soldiers, but their composition is different, and their combat effectiveness will vary greatly.

"I don't know." Xia Sanmu said honestly.

Lu Huaizhong was silent for a while.

It's not because they don't work carefully, it's normal that they can't find out, it's because they are too demanding.

But until now, even the composition of the "[-] Jin soldiers" brought by Kang Junli is not known, which is indeed quite annoying.An elite yamen soldier is a "Jin soldier", and a temporarily recruited peasant is also a "Jin soldier". If you don't know it, it is very difficult to make a decision.

"Killing [-] enemies is a great achievement." After being silent for a while, Lu Huaizhong finally opened his mouth, and added some water to the future battle report, only to hear him say: "Send more people to wipe out the scouts and ambushes of the bandit army. Wait for Chishui, Xiaojie and Hezhong Xiangyong to arrive, and then go north. In addition, collect [-] soil groups in the two states of Cixi."

"Of order." Xia Sanmu and Guan Kairun agreed in unison.

For the next three days, the Wuwei army was mainly dispatched, and they scattered among the trails among the mountains with thousands of people to clean up the thieves.

Don't tell me, I actually met a few Jin people hiding in it and planning to ambush.A short and fierce battle broke out immediately between the two sides, and the Jin people were defeated and retreated.

The Wuwei army also transferred an additional infantry commander (2000 people) and a cavalry commander (500 people) to bypass Madouguan, join the 500 people of the Heiji Army, and drive towards Xizhou.

On the [-]th, more than [-] soldiers from Xiaojie Army, Chishui Army, and Hezhong Xiangyong arrived near Daning.

Lu Huaizhong ordered the Xiaojie Army's right wing to be the vanguard, and the other armies followed suit to attack Hengcheng Town.

******
Kang Junli left Xizhou City.

The situation of the battle is unfavorable, and he no longer has much hope for defending Xizhou.

There are still more than [-] people in Hengcheng Town, and the main force is the Shenjie Army.There are still more than [-] people in Xizhou, and the main force is the Zhangqian Army.A part of the sudden army has more than a thousand horses grazing in the mountains, which can be regarded as cruising troops.

The rest of the ministries withdrew all the way north to Shilou and Shangpingguan.

The entire battle situation in Xizhou was in charge of Shi Shaoyong, the military envoy before the account.

He didn't expect to be able to block Xia's army here for a long time, he just wanted to continue to consume their vigor, and when the veterans of his division were exhausted, they could only turn to defense, and then there would be more choices.

Therefore, his order to Shi Shaoyong was to abide by the rules and withdraw from the rules, but he had to do his best.

After Kang Junli left, Shi Shaoyong was also a little flustered. He ordered the soldiers in front of the tent to be ready to retreat at any time, and then went to Hengcheng Town in person, and brought the few pigs and sheep he found to comfort the soldiers.

At this time, outside Hengcheng Town, arrows were flying, swords and swords were in full swing, and the battle was fierce.

Xiangyong from various counties in Hezhong bite the bullet and rushed forward in turn.

They are sad, they are obviously very dissatisfied with the Xia people in their hearts, but they have to serve them and consume the arrows and energy of the defenders.

Of course, Cixi Xiangyong who guarded the city was also very sad. They were also dissatisfied with the Jin people, but they had to defend the city and fight for them.

The cannon fodder collided here, causing countless casualties.

The rhythm of Lu Huaizhong's siege is more conscientious than others.Basically, there was a wave of brave attacks from the countryside, followed by the Xiaojie Army, Chishui Army, and Wuwei Army, attacking in rotation.

After attacking all day on the 23rd, the earthen walls of the town were damaged in many places.

Shi Shaoyong was shocked, and a sergeant came to report that Xia Jun appeared in the southwest of Xizhou. He hurriedly left Hengcheng Town and returned to Xizhou in the dark.

More than a thousand cavalry of the sudden army met with Xia Jun who was coming from the direction of Madouguan. After a short fight, a cavalry commander of the Wuwei Army retreated.

But after Shi Shaoyong heard about it, he was not at all happy.

Madouguan Ferry goes east to Daning, and northeast to Xizhou. Who knows if there will be reinforcements from the Xia army over there.

He didn't dare to be negligent, so he sent people to Chang'an Yuan, southwest of Xizhou, to go down to the village, and spread many banners, thinking that they were suspicious soldiers, which made Xia people confused for a short time.

At the same time, the materials in the city were transported away at night, so as not to slow down the speed when retreating.

On the 24th, there was another day of fierce fighting in Hengcheng Town. On the road leading to Xizhou, Jin soldiers had already fled north in twos and threes—mostly Cixi Xiangyong.

"Military envoy, it's time to withdraw." The staff members kept persuading with anxious expressions.

"Where is the assault army?" Shi Shaoyong asked.

"There was a summer bandit who detoured through the mountain path, and the sudden army went to intercept it." The staff replied.

"Damn it, the defense line leaks everywhere." Shi Shaoyong cursed.

After cursing, he frowned again.

It's not that he wasn't brave, it wasn't that he didn't dare to fight, but after Kuangba, Feiteng, Yinhuzhen, Wansheng and other troops were finished, the morale of the army was frustrated, and Kang Dutou didn't want to fight anymore. Hope to turn defeat into victory.In such a situation, he is also very embarrassed.

Once the army in front of the tent is completely lost, how to replenish troops?Will you be unemployed and go home?This is a problem.

"What about the Shenjie Army?" Shi Shaoyong asked suddenly.

Hengcheng Town shouldn't be guarded, or there must be a stricter system for guarding.Xia Jun made a detour from the southwest and came straight to Xizhou. He had already reached the rear of Hengcheng Town. Who advocated giving up easily at Madouguan?Uh, it seems to be Kang Junli.

That's all, that's all, there's nothing more to say.

"Military envoy, I'm afraid the Shenjie army has nothing to do." The staff replied honestly: "They are stuck, and it is not that easy to retreat. But we still have a chance, and we can't control so much. There are so many soldiers and horses, how many troops are left now that were all-powerful in the early years?"

In the first year of Dashun, the King of Jin paraded troops in Jinyang. At that time, there were Yier, Zuoying, Youying, Decisive, Hengchong, Suzhen, Qinqi, Suqi, Feiqi, Wuyuan, Xiongwei, Tingzhi, and Wan who participated in the review. There are more than ten troops including Sheng, Kuangba, and Ma Qianzhi.

Ten years later, at least half of these troops are gone.It was not consumed, but was adapted into another team.

Back then, the Zuoying, Youying, Tingzhi, and Maqianzhi were all well-known front-line main forces, but now it is Zhangqian, Gongwei, Kuangwei, and Baowei who are leading the way.

Ten years in Hedong, ten years in Hexi, every time there is an adaptation, there are people up and down, and everyone sees it.

"Oh, even if you want to fight well." Shi Shaoyong sighed, looking very sentimental.

The staff members bowed their heads slightly, waiting quietly for the lord to make a decision.

"Send people to set up more suspicious formations along the road, put up more banners, and set up more war drums." Shi Shaoyong made a decision, and said decisively: "Once the Shenjie army retreats, if these suspicious soldiers can play a role, they can restore some defeated soldiers. , tell the assault troops not to run in a hurry, and set up an ambush in the valley south of Shilou County, to somewhat deter the enemy."

Cixi's terrain is so complicated, it's a pity not to set up an ambush.Even if it is unsuccessful, you can slow down the pace of the pursuers, let them stop, and spend time cleaning up the mountains or dense forests on both sides, which will play a big role.

"The military envoy has done his best." Hearing this, the staff immediately praised.

In the early morning of the 25th, more than [-] people from the Zhangqian Army and Cixi Township Yong hurriedly looked north and rushed all the way to the direction of Shilou.

In the afternoon of the same day, Hengcheng Town, which had been defending for three days, was broken, and the Jin soldiers were routed and rushed northward in a dense mass.

The Economic and Strategic Army acted as a vanguard, chasing endlessly.

At si o'clock the next day, they captured the almost deserted city of Xizhou.

The battle is fought in one breath, and the situation is so good at this time, it is natural to hunt to the end.

But just when they finished their rest and wanted to continue going north, Lu Huaizhong ordered the Jinglue Army to stop the troops on the grounds that they were exhausted from hard work.

(End of this chapter)