Chapter 545 The Great Player of the Southern Tang Dynasty
Hu Cile still knew Zhang Zhao. The withered bones in Du Chongwei's tomb were not even considered to be struggling to death. Zhang Zhao didn't take him seriously at all.
What Zhang Shengren wanted to do was to lure tens of thousands of elite Imperial Guards from the Southern Tang Dynasty to Huaibei and annihilate them in one fell swoop.
Only if the Southern Tang Dynasty was not fooled, Zhang Zhao would quickly conquer Songzhou.
At the same time, Du Chongwei and Yelu Dilu in Songzhou City unexpectedly did not escape, but chose to stand firm.
In fact, it's not that unexpected. It's not that Du Chongwei didn't think about running, he couldn't run.
Because the Guide army guarding Songzhou was not a direct descendant of Du Chongwei, Du Chongwei never served as a military envoy in Songzhou in this time and space.
The soldiers who returned to Germany supported him. First, they wanted to escape from Kaifeng Mansion. Later, they saw Yelu Deguang's edict and thought that Du Chongwei really wanted to become the emperor of the Central Plains.
Therefore, those who returned to the German army could be regarded as accidentally boarding a pirate ship and unable to get off.
If Du Chongwei chose to stay in Songzhou and take out the treasures he had collected for many years, with the hope of Southern Tang, the soldiers who returned to Germany would still have some confidence to fight him.
But if they were to run away to the Southern Tang Dynasty, these returning German soldiers were locals. If they were asked to risk being chased by cavalry and abandon their homes and property for hundreds of miles to flee to the Southern Tang Dynasty, the soldiers and generals would have to go crazy to agree.
As for the Khitan people, they had long since become homeless dogs, and the three thousand knights boasted by Du Chongwei were completely false. Yelu Dilu's men, including the Xi people, only had a few hundred knights.
Based on the hatred accumulated by the Khitans from hunting grass and valleys in the Central Plains, if hundreds of Khitans were to abandon the city and flee, it would be unknown whether they would escape beyond Huaibei.
You must know that in Huaibei, from the Qin and Han Dynasties to the end of the Qing Dynasty, the Hanzi of Guanzhong declined, the warriors of Xiliang declined, and the knights of Daibei and Hedong also declined. However, although the folk customs in Huaibei are not the strongest, they have never declined.
But it is in a steady growth trend.
The notorious Khitan people, carrying huge horses worth thousands of gold, passed through the Huaibei warehouse in panic. What is the difference between that and carrying a cornucopia in front of the robbers?
After a slight hesitation, Du Chongwei refused to run when Murong Nobunaga arrived. After Zhang Zhao arrived, he was even less able to run.
The Zhou army surrounded Songzhou City on all sides and attacked several times from time to time to test the weaknesses of Songzhou City's defense and the morale of the returning German troops.
Zhang Zhao even took the time to go to Ningling, Gushu, Yucheng and other counties under the jurisdiction of Songzhou to check the household registration and spring plowing status.
Tens of thousands of civilians were also recruited to repair the Bian River that had been dug up by Du Chongwei, and to repair some damaged water conservancy facilities in Songzhou counties.
At first, the people were very scared, but it turned out that the Zhou army did not beat people, let alone kill people. Although they would not pay wages, they would give them food.
The food was not bad, at least it made me full. I occasionally had some salted fish soup and mutton soup, and I immediately became enthusiastic.
It was only mid-February, and spring plowing had not yet begun. We were in the spring famine season. Having a place to earn enough to eat would leave a chance for our wife, children, and children to survive.
It is also a way to store enough fat for yourself during the upcoming busy farming season!
As a result, a magical scene appeared. On one side, Songzhou was surrounded and beaten several times from time to time.
On one side, around Songzhou, there were people everywhere speaking with local accents, happily dredging rivers, digging ditches and even leveling fields.
In late February, the southern part of Songzhou City was destroyed by the Zhou army. The Right Shenwu Army, composed of the former Imperial Guards of the Later Jin Dynasty, who had just acquired a new identity, was extremely brave and broke into the city several times.
If Du Chongwei hadn't sent his Ya soldiers to resist desperately, and Zhang Zhao didn't arrange follow-up troops because he didn't want to capture Songzhou, Songzhou would have been conquered.
But Zhang Zhao was just sorry. Du Chongwei was almost scared out of his mind. He did not brag about defeating the Zhou army, attacking from inside and outside, and directly sent Du Hongjie out for the third time. He bluntly said that if the Southern Tang army did not arrive, he would just
Now he can take refuge with Zhou Guo.
Zhang Zhao waited outside the city. After Du Chongwei sent out three groups of messengers, he personally beat the drum beside him.
The messengers immediately sent down the order to tightly surround Songzhou and not allow any wave of messengers to go out.
Zhang Zhao then arranged for Huang Yingda and Wang Shenqi to lead their cavalry to disperse to the east of Songzhou, preparing to outflank and rescue the Southern Tang army in Songzhou.
As soon as the order was passed, Zhang Lieming, dressed as a profiteer, came over and asked to see him.
Zhang Zhao looked at this tired nephew and couldn't help but want to laugh. Not to mention, he really looked like a profiteer in his appearance.
Originally, Zhang Zhao thought that the Zhang family in Shazhou had few talents, but he has now changed his mind. There are quite a few people from the Zhang family in Hexi Buddhism.
The Zhang family played a huge role in the smooth integration of Zhang Zhao's unconventional religious reforms into the Chinese culture represented by Confucianism and Taoism.
However, there are not many people like Zhang Lieming who are good at pretending to be gods and ghosts.
As soon as Zhang Lieming saw Zhang Zhao, he immediately ran over in a very dog-like manner, holding a dossier in his hand.
"Sage, Liu Yanzhen is most likely not a famous general anymore. You see, this is a good thing he did when he was the governor of Chuzhou!"
Zhang Zhao took a look at the file and immediately understood why Zhang Lieming said this, because the file only said one thing.
That is, when Liu Yanzhen was the governor of Chuzhou, he coveted hundreds of thousands of acres of land in Chuzhou. However, in ancient times, no one would sell such good land unless they could not survive.
What's more, this is hundreds of thousands of acres, which is the life dependence of hundreds of thousands of people, and it is not something that can be taken casually.
But this didn't bother Liu Yanzhen. He immediately thought of a good idea. This bitch first made an excuse to dredge the nearby moat.
"I Have a Picture Book of Ghosts and Gods"
Then, when the crops were about to mature, river water was deliberately released to flood the fields, causing the people of Chuzhou to have almost no harvest even in a good year without natural disasters.
After all the people's fields were flooded, Liu Yanzhen sent tax collectors to supervise the payment of taxes. The people could not afford to pay the taxes, so they had to sell their fields at low prices to the servants sent by Liu Yanzhen to purchase the land.
After buying the fields, Liu Yanzhen immediately blocked the moat, requisitioned the people to trim the fields, and then sold them at a fair price, keeping the most fertile ones for herself. From this alone, her income was incalculable.
Zhang Zhao could only gnash his teeth at the sight, wishing he could pull this piece of shit in front of him right now and cut him into pieces.
Hundreds of thousands of acres of land! Behind it is at least the livelihood of more than 100,000 people.
He had worked hard for a year and was about to reap the rewards. When Ye Niang's wife could have a full meal, he would flood the fields with water. I don't know how many people died of starvation that year.
Zhang Lieming is right, such a crazy person may be a ferocious general, but he cannot be a famous general or commander.
Since ancient times, it is not easy to be the commander of an army. You must understand how to arrange troops, train soldiers, arrange logistics, boost morale, astronomy and geography, etc. It requires continuous study and study.
If Liu Yanzhen cut off his head to harm the people, he would naturally have no time and perseverance to truly learn how to be a good commander.
So Zhang Zhao knew something in his mind, he opened the map, looked at it, and said to Murong Nobunaga beside him.
"The Wu army came from Xuzhou and must have gone upstream from the ancient Bian River, so let's wait for them at Mengzhuze.
Leave the horse kite here to command the siege, and the army will withdraw to the northeast of Meng Zhuze, blocking the back road first, and then attacking!"
.
.
Liu Yanzhen in Xuzhou City had no idea that Zhang Zhao had chosen a burial place for him. He was feeling uncomfortable and didn't want to stay in Xuzhou for a while.
What should I say about this person? He was born in a general family. Although he knew nothing about leading troops in battle, his riding and archery skills were not bad. In Jiangnan, where cavalry and archery was rare, he was definitely top-notch.
This is also the main reason why he feels that he is unparalleled in bravery and why some people in the Southern Tang Dynasty still believe that he is a famous general.
However, a second-generation soldier who likes riding and shooting and has a good level of skills will not be able to take time off. Generally, what they love to do most is shooting and hunting.
When Liu Yanzhen was in Chuzhou, she would go to the countryside almost every other day to hang out with friends.
But when they arrived in Xuzhou, as the commander of the army, Liu Yanzhen still knew that he shouldn't go around for fun.
Then there was the tiger thornle who kept looking cold around him, and Liu Yanzhen always felt uneasy in her heart.
There is no point in playing this game. If you can't show your bravery in defeating the Zhou army after becoming a general, then what's the point of staying in Xuzhou?
Just when Liu Yanzhen was helpless, Du Hongjie, Du Chongwei's third son, arrived crying.
However, before Du Hongjie even started to describe Songzhou's danger in a more exaggerated way, the coach of Tang State immediately turned serious, as if he was still a little impatient.
"Don't worry, I will personally bring a large army to rescue Songzhou, and I will definitely make the Lord of Zhou return with hatred!"
In the commander's tent, Zhang Quanyue pursed his lips, but did not come out to dissuade him in the end, because You Yijun did return the news that the southern part of Songzhou City had been collapsed by the Zhou Army, and they almost attacked the city.
Moreover, Zhang Quan had been in the Southern Tang Dynasty for a long time, so he naturally knew the conventions of the Southern Tang officialdom. The last time he tried to dissuade him, Liu Yanzhen gave face and did not immediately send troops to Songzhou.
The information detected this time is basically consistent with Du Chongwei's letter asking for help. If he wants to dissuade him, it would be a bit unscrupulous.
However, Hu Cile still had a cold face and did not agree to march eastward to rescue Songzhou.
"If the Zhou army had destroyed the southern city of Songzhou, it would only be a matter of time before the city was destroyed, and the southern part of the city had already been destroyed. How long could Du Chongwei hold on?
Maybe the city has already been destroyed, so why don’t we just wait in Xuzhou and wait for the Zhou army to come to our door."
When he said this, Du Hongjie, Du Chongwei's son, exploded immediately. He looked at Hu Tile and shouted.
"My father returned to the Tang Dynasty, but he was recommended by Duke Xu. The Heavenly Soldiers of the Tang Dynasty went north to capture all of Huaibei. In the current situation, Songzhou is in danger of dying, how can we not save it?"
Hu Zaile wanted to say something else, but Liu Yanzhen slapped her hard on the bed.
"Tiger stays behind, a certain family originally respected you as a brave general on the battlefield, but now it seems that you are so cowardly!"
The saint gave me tens of thousands of elites, not to guard Xuzhou for you. If you say that you are greedy for life and afraid of death, don't blame me for being merciless."
Hu Ci Le was furious and pointed his halberd at Liu Yanzhen, "Hu came from Anxi and fought dozens of battles. How could he ever be greedy for life and afraid of death?
The Emperor of Zhou saw that what he wanted to capture was not Songzhou, but the 30,000 elite troops here. How could he still send them to his doorstep when they were all deployed?"
Hu Cile was telling the truth, but when he said this, he completely pissed off Liu Yanzhen.
"I personally raised 30,000 tigers and wolves to annihilate the Fujian Kingdom. How can I be afraid of the Zhou people? You come from Yongliang, so it seems that your heart is still towards the Lord of Zhou!"
Just wait and see in Xuzhou and wait until I come back victorious before I argue with you again!"
Liu Yanzhen decided that he would personally raise the army and defeat the Zhou people, and let this old Hu'er see how the Yongliang cavalry could defeat the Imperial Army of the Tang Dynasty?
Hu Cile's face turned red, as if he was extremely angry because of Liu Yanzhen's words. He roared and cursed before being kicked out of the handsome tent. However, his eyes were clear, and he didn't seem to be very angry.