Chinese New Year

Chapter 565 North-South Arrangement (Part )

Zhao County is a place where the forces of both sides are intertwined.

As of now, the prefect You Lun captured the county town at the end of last year after several battles, but the two counties of Yuanshi and Pingji in the north are still under the control of Shi Le.

There are two flat post roads in Zhao County.

One route starts from Zhongqiu, passes through Bairen and Gaoyi to reach Pingji, and finally leads to Boling, Gaoyang and other places.

One route starts from Zhongqiu, passes through the county seat of Fangzi and Yuanshi, and goes to Changshan, Youzhou and other places.

In the first month of the lunar year, You Lun took advantage of the enemy's New Year celebration to launch a surprise attack. Unexpectedly, the enemy was well prepared and was waiting for him. After an ambush, You Lun's troops were defeated and retreated to their houses in panic, almost failing to save the county town.

After this battle, You Lun became obedient. In addition, he had to plant in the spring, so he disbanded the soldiers and let them go home to farm. Zhi Quliu, who was stationed in Yuanshi by Shi Le, was also unable to go south, and the two sides lived in peace and the stalemate continued.

Another contentious area was the State of Boling.

This is Wang Jun's fiefdom, but with people coming and going from all directions, he has long since stopped interfering.

The Cui family of Boling came to surrender, and Lu Zhi asked the former Palace Attendant Cui Kuo to be the Prime Minister of Boling, and Shao Xun agreed.

Su Qiu, the commander of Lukou Town, was slow to act and was not active in attacking the Xiongnu. Someone even reported that he was secretly connected with Hu Yanmo, the governor of Gaoyang, and was not very reliable, and there was a possibility that he would surrender and then rebel again.

Apart from these two places, the rest of the area was generally calm.

Shi Le still led the remaining forces in Jizhou as Liu Han's General of Andong.

To exaggerate a little, Shi Le now controlled seven counties: Changshan, Zhongshan, Gaoyang, Hejian, Zhangwu, Boling, and Zhao.

To be more specific, he only actually controlled the two counties of Changshan and Zhongshan.

The two counties and states of Zhao and Boling were the areas contested by both sides.

Hu Yanmo, the governor of Gaoyang east of Zhongshan, was one of Shi Le's Eighteen Riders. However, he followed Liu Yuan to fight in his early years and became estranged from his old brothers, so he was not considered one of them.

To the east of Gaoyang is Hejian, and the prefect Liu Zheng was Shi Le's man. Because they were separated, it could not be considered complete control, and it all depended on Liu Zheng's loyalty to Shi Le.

To the east of Hejian is Zhangwu, whose prefect Linghu Ni did not have much friendship with Shi Le.

In other words, Shi Le's direct forces were mainly concentrated in the northwest of Jizhou. Hejian could barely be considered one of his core territories, but there was no other area besides this.

He could command the troops in the name of General Anton, but it was certainly not as easy as when he commanded his old subordinates.

"Last year we were short of food, so we had to stop the war. We can't delay this year any longer. Eradicating all evil is the right thing to do." Shao Xun looked at Lu Zhi and said, "Zidao, you have to help me with this."

Lu Zhi pondered for a while.

This is not an easy matter to handle. Even Shi Le stopped fighting and was busy with spring ploughing, herding cattle and sheep, and accumulating food. If you want to fight, you will inevitably conscript a large number of men and consume countless money and food. Who will provide the men and money?

However, he also knew that Lord Chen had to attack Shi Le. This was a matter of principle and there was no room for negotiation.

After thinking it over, he cupped his hands and said, "How do you plan to attack Shi Le?"

"What do you think, Zidao?" Shao Xun asked back.

"From south to north, there are generally two post roads. One is to advance along the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain and go straight to Zhongshan. The other is to go north along the central part of Jizhou, away from Taihang Mountain. I think it is best not to advance along the eastern foot of Taihang Mountain." Lu Zhi said.

"This is a mature and prudent statement." Shao Xun nodded.

Taihang Mountain is leaky everywhere. If the Xiongnu army marches eastward, it is very likely to cut off the army's food supply. If Shi Le collapses at the first blow, it will be fine. But if he insists on defending the city for a long time, he will inevitably lose.

Apart from the Silver Spear and Black Jade armies, he did not trust any other troops that were escorting food and grass. Moreover, it was impossible to use elite troops to escort food and grass unless you risked the main force being defeated.

So, it is best not to choose this route of advance.

"Actually..." Lu Zhi continued, "Why not wait until the water level rises in summer and continue to take the Baigou River as a food route? The fleet will depart from Qinghe, cross the Bohai Sea, and attack Zhangwu and Hejian in the north. After taking these two counties, we will attack Gaoyang and Boling in the west. We will advance step by step and make steady progress, and our chances of success will be higher."

Shao Xun looked at the map and said, "Then we have to split our troops into two groups. One group will be stationed in Zhaojun and take our time, while the other group will go down the Baigou River."

In fact, it is still a tactic that combines the positive and the odd.

The regular troops were stationed in Zhao County and did not advance deep into enemy territory. Instead, they focused on protecting the rear routes and attracting enemy troops.

The special forces marched along the Baigou River, detoured to the enemy's east, and attempted to capture the two counties of Zhangwu and Hejian.

As the battle situation changes, regular troops can be transformed into special troops, and special troops can be transformed into regular troops. This is the so-called combination of regular and special troops - a classic tactic of Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin.

In addition, the water consumption is really low when using Baigou.

The cost of water transportation is as low as one-tenth of that of land transportation, or even less, and the manpower required is much less than that of land transportation, which can greatly reduce the burden on the people.

Hebei suffered a poor harvest last year and then fought a war, and there will be a war again this year. If we continue to requisition manpower and material resources without restraint, it will be very detrimental to the united front and may even trigger a rebellion.

"Yan Guo." Shao Xun looked at Hu Wufuzhi and said, "Send a message to the shogunate to recruit 10,000 garrison troops and 25,000 men from various counties to go north. All the garrison troops and men recruited last year will be dismissed and sent back home to farm."

"Move 5,000 men from Tang Jian's corps north to Zhaojun. Man Heng's corps move east to Juancheng to take over Tang's defense zone."

"Appoint Li Chong as the commander-in-chief of the Western Route Army and march north immediately to take charge of the battle in the direction of Zhaojun."

"Appoint Jin Zheng as the commander-in-chief of the Eastern Route Army and lead the Silver Spear Right Battalion to assemble at Qinghe. All troops and horses transferred to Qinghe and Bohai will be under his command."

Hu Wu Fuzhi drafted orders while listening.

After the draft was completed, it was given to Shao Xun for review, and after being checked for correctness, it was sent out.

This time, it seems that Lord Chen does not intend to lead the army himself, but instead focuses on developing the abilities of his generals.

Li Chong and Jin Zheng, one in the east and the other in the west, attacked together and fought a fierce battle with the Huns.

What a pity! Wang Jun can't cooperate well, and he may even be worried about Chen Gong's attitude towards him. If they can work together, this battle will be much easier to win.

"Zidao, how about this arrangement?" Shao Xun looked at Lu Zhi and asked.

"When will the troops be mobilized?"

"We have to wait until all the food and military supplies are stored up." Shao Xun said, "I will go back to Henan to collect food in a few days."

"Okay." Lu Zhi nodded and said, "I'm collecting food in Hebei. I'm going to get it even if it costs me my reputation."

"Okay, you and I will act separately." Shao Xun nodded in agreement. "Ming Gong--" Lu Zhi hesitated: "Ming Gong, won't you command it yourself?"

"If we have to fight every battle ourselves, then we might as well not fight for the world." Shao Xun said, "If we don't train them now, we won't have the chance to train them when we attack Liu Han in the future."

"That's right." Lu Zhi could understand.

******
After setting the major policy, Shao Xun had nothing to do for a while.

But he would not sit idle, but would go over in his mind what he had done in the past few months.

Recruit the various nobles and chiefs in Hebei.

The New Year's Eve Banquet unifies thoughts and enhances cohesion.

Create a model for the resettlement of Hu tribes.

Explore Hebei’s agricultural and animal husbandry production models.

Send troops to stabilize the situation in Xuzhou.

Formulate an offensive plan against the remaining Xiongnu forces in Hebei.

So many important things were finalized within just a few months. The pace was very tight and the efficiency was very high. It would be an exaggeration to say that he was slacking off.

"Pingzi." Shao Xun walked into the hall and saw Wang Cheng kneeling respectfully. He said expressionlessly, "Why don't you go to Luoyang, but stay in Yecheng instead?"

"I really have no face to face my brother." Wang Cheng quickly stood up and saluted, saying awkwardly.

"You." Shao Xun's face didn't look very good.

He took off his shoes after entering the house, and sat on the couch by himself, saying, "He forced Du Tao to rebel in Jingzhou, and after causing great trouble, he ran away. When he arrived in Xuzhou, he ran away again. Is Zu Ti that scary?"

"It's not that Zu Ti is scary, it's that the soldiers regard me as an enemy. If I don't leave now, I will die." Wang Cheng said with a wry smile.

"What did you do?"

Wang Cheng said nothing.

Shao Xun snorted coldly. He probably knew it without Wang Cheng telling him. It was nothing more than being harsh or even cruel to his subordinates, which aroused widespread dissatisfaction.

In the eyes of top scholars like Wang Cheng, common people, soldiers, refugees and the like are not necessarily human beings. They can be killed without blinking an eye.

After the rebel refugees from Bashu surrendered, Wang Cheng went back on his word and had all of them, regardless of gender, age or status, thrown into the river, forcing Du Tao, an imperial officer who was supposed to suppress the rebellion, to revolt.

I don't know what's going on in this kind of person's train of thought.

In front of him, Wang Cheng was gentle and polite. Even if he looked down on him in his heart, he would hide it carefully and dare not show it. But when facing people who were lower than him, he would not give them face at all. Beating and scolding were commonplace, and killing was also a common method. He was cruel and brutal, and in the end he was deserted by everyone.

The most outrageous thing is that you have already made a mistake in Jingzhou, and you still don’t restrain yourself after being transferred to Xuzhou. Who the hell will work for you?
"Mingsir." Wang Jingfeng came in with tea, sat next to Shao Xun, and advised: "Uncle Pingzi is not good at general affairs, just arrange a noble position for him."

"Do you still want to continue being an official?" Shao Xun was a little incredulous.

Wang Cheng smiled awkwardly and signaled to his niece with his eyes.

Wang Jingfeng took Shao Xun's arm and said, "Uncle Pingzi is on good terms with the Bian family of Jiyin. Let him go and raise money and food. He will definitely gain something."

Shao Xun came to his senses and realized that the uncle and nephew had already discussed it.

Wang Jingfeng, this silly girl, is the easiest to deceive.

Wang Cheng pretended to be pitiful and she softened her heart.

However, what she said was not without reason. Wang Cheng was a loser, but he had a wide circle of friends and a lot of cronies, so it was not impossible for him to go to Jiyin to raise money and food.

"Mingsir," Wang Cheng said pitifully, "It is inconvenient for me to go back to Luoyang now, so I am here to help you. The Bian family in Jiyin and the Ruan family in Chenliu are both friendly to me, so I will go to visit them. By the way, how much money and food do you want?"

Shao Xun looked at him and said nothing.

Wang Jingfeng shook his hand gently, and the huge peak touched his elbow from time to time.

Shao Xun was secretly happy.

At the beginning, we could only hug each other.

Later on, I could slide my hands down when hugging the baby.

By the Chinese New Year, I could already reach it into my arms and fiddle with it as I pleased.

Now, ready to be picked.

"Two hundred thousand bushels of millet and wheat, one hundred thousand bushels of beans, and one hundred thousand bundles of hay." Shao Xun said, "I don't care what method you use, just tell me when you get it and I'll send someone to move it. If you can't get it, go home and hug your children as soon as possible."

That's a very impolite thing to say.

Wang Cheng's face turned pale and he felt uncomfortable.

For a moment, he didn't want to be an official anymore, so as not to be bullied by Shao Xun.

You played with my niece, played with my sister-in-law, played with all the women in my Wang family, and you still talk to me in this fucking tone, I—

I will endure!

"When do we leave?" Wang Cheng asked, taking a deep breath.

"Let's go now." Shao Xun said.

Wang Cheng was stunned. It’s almost dark, and you want me to travel overnight.

Wang Jingfeng also looked at Shao Xun with some grievance.

"Don't want to?" Shao Xun ignored her, looked at Wang Cheng and asked.

Wang Cheng stayed for a while, stood up, bowed, and left dejectedly.

(End of this chapter)