The water system in northern Hebei is much richer than that in northern Shanxi.`
After crossing the Juma River, Laishui is in front of you.
When Li Po led his army across Laishui again, Laishui actually divided the battlefield into two parts.
It is impossible for the army to ignore Shanggu County and march straight into Zhuo County.
Therefore, before crossing Laishui, Li Po ordered Yu Chigong to lead his troops to stay on the west bank of Laishui, waiting for the arrival of the following five thousand cavalry, while guarding the army's retreat.
Hebei was severely damaged. Where two such large water veins passed by, not a single farmland was seen.
And a large county like Shanggu County has now fallen into the hands of thieves.
The massive rebel army of Mantian King Li Shanfei split into several groups after Li Shanfei died in battle.
The one that is now entrenched in Shanggu is one of them, led by Song Jingang. Li Po is not sure how many troops there are. These are what Chen Yuan, Luo Shixin, and the Yuchi brothers said. Together with some subsequent detective reports, he will know about Hebei.
I have a little understanding of the situation.
In fact, starting from the 13th year of Daye, the number of rebels in Hebei began to decrease. Large-scale famine caused the rebels who once claimed to be hundreds of thousands and hundreds of thousands to disappear on the Hebei plain.
There were two or three remaining kittens, either with Gao Shida or Dou Jiande, or they were huddled in one place, trying to grow some food to fill their stomachs before everyone starved to death.
Unfortunately, most of them do not have the talent or experience to govern local areas, so farming is not suitable for them. And after the war, the subordinates of the rebel army no longer want to be farmers.
As a result, tragedies of cannibalism were staged one after another. The cannibal armies in Hebei and Shandong were no better than the great demon Zhu Can on Lianghuai West Road.
It's just that Hebei and Shandong were smashed, and this kind of thing has become common, so it doesn't seem as crazy as Zhu Can.
This is a difference between active and passive, which needs no further explanation.
The two rebel armies closest to Youzhou are Song Jingang's tribe and Wei Daoer's tribe who are blocking the front of Youzhou.
If Song Jingang still had a place to stay and had the intention to be self-sufficient, then Wei Daoer would be a wandering bandit.
They wandered back and forth from the south of Youzhou to Hejian County. When they heard a crowd gathering, they rushed there.
These desperadoes roaming around caused great damage to central Hebei.
But for Youzhou, these two rebel armies are natural shields. If Dou Jiande wants to attack Youzhou, he must attack these two rebel armies first.
Of course, Li Po now has no time to carefully consider the situation in Hebei.
After leading the army across Laishui, there was only one way for the army to go, which was to encircle Zhuoxian County.
This is the only way to go from the west to the county town of Zhuojun.
With such a large-scale cavalry, it was impossible to hide their whereabouts.
But Li Po never thought of forcing a siege.
After crossing Laishui, the army stopped at the foot of Fangshan Mountain. At this time, it was already the critical moment of the battle for Youzhou.
The scouts of the army spread out like tentacles, and at the same time the curtain of the Battle of Youzhou began.
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The county magistrate of Zhuo County and the county captain's surname are Lu. The Lu family of Zhuo County is also a well-known Hebei family. Their ancestor is Lu Zhi, a famous official in the late Han Dynasty.
There are countless people with the surname Lu in the vicinity of Zhuo County. They are the most difficult to shake off the landowners in Zhuo County. No matter who is in charge of Zhuo County, they must be respected.
Sui Emperor Yang Guang's three expeditions to Goguryeo dealt a severe blow to this ethnic group.
Their slaves were all transferred to transport grain, and their clansmen were also transferred to join the Liao army.
The three heavy-lost campaigns against Liao made the Lu family feel heartbroken.
This is not only a matter of casualties among the clan members, but also the loss of their fields. The Lu family can only live on their previous savings.`
However, rebellions broke out in Hebei, so the Lu family could only firmly occupy Zhuoxian and defend themselves.
Unlike people in other counties, the Lu family in Zhuoxian County was full of gratitude to Luo Yi, the general manager of Youzhou. Because several times the rebel army besieged the city, it was Luo Yi who led the army to repel the bandits.
Originally, County Magistrate Lu wanted to marry Luo Yi, but unfortunately the elders in the clan were stubborn and looked down on Luo Yi's origin and behavior. They felt that the Lu family, who inherited the family's etiquette and righteousness, should not marry such a person.
There are too many things involved.
Don't look at me as a bit ungrateful, but what I said is still reasonable.
In their opinion, Luo Yi is not a broad-minded and kind-hearted person, and the most important point is that Luo Yi is considered a Kansai native.
The wealthy families in Hebei have never been very close to the Kansai nobles. Especially after the three conquests of Goguryeo, they became even more dissatisfied with the high-handedness and arrogance of the Kansai nobles.
They sent all the talents from Hebei to the front of the battle, leaving the people of Hebei dead and wounded. Therefore, if you want to say which place is the most hated person in the world for Sui Emperor Yang Guang.
There is no doubt that they are people from Hebei and Shandong.
As this hatred spread, the Kansai people in Hebei would also face natural hostility. The local estrangement caused by historical reasons also reached its peak after the three conquests of Goguryeo.
The hatred between the Qin people, the Zhao people, and the Yan people has almost continued since the Qin Dynasty and has never been eliminated.
Luo Yi's family background also makes people in Hebei naturally separated from him.
"Report... report to the county magistrate... Something bad has happened..."
Zhuo County responded very quickly. It would be useless to respond quickly these days. When Magistrate Lu heard the news about the enemy invasion, he immediately ordered people to close the city gate and send a message to the county captain, who was his cousin.
He was ordered to lead troops to the city to defend it.
At the same time, he also sent people to ask for help from the county.
Even though Magistrate Lu is considered a scholar, he can memorize this procedure by heart after going through it countless times.
Zhuo County is a large county in Hebei. When the population was at its peak in the early years of Daye, it had a population of nearly 300,000, which was almost the same as the population of Mayi County.
But now, the population of Zhuo County has dropped sharply to less than 100,000.
After more than ten years, 200,000 people have disappeared, and Hebei is in ruins. It can be seen from this that this is still Youzhou, a place that has not experienced too large-scale wars.
The main culprit for the sharp decrease in the population of Youzhou was undoubtedly the three expeditions to Goguryeo, especially the last one. The defenders from all over the country were unwilling to follow the emperor north to Liaodong. The Liao expedition army was insufficient in strength, so they could only forcefully recruit people and strong followers in Zhuo County.
Very serious injuries were caused in several counties in northern Hebei.
If we had put it in the early years of the Great Cause, or even before the Three Conquests of Goguryeo, it would be a joke to say that there were bandit troops in places like Zhuoxian.
But now, the people guarding an ancient city in Hebei with a high city and a deep pool started to fight as soon as they heard the name of the bandit army.
The county magistrate, county captain and subordinate officials soon arrived on the city wall.
At this time, the smoke from the northwest was clearly visible.
"Is it Wei Daoer or Song Jingang?"
Someone is asking. This is also what people in Zhuoxian City want to know most. Song Jingang and Wei Daoer are the two largest groups of rebels in northern Hebei.
They all come from the remnants of Mantian Wang Li Shanfei, who have repeatedly invaded Youzhou, and are the two most feared and hated by the officials and people of Youzhou.
"How many troops are there in the bandit army? Have you found out?"
"Reporting to the county magistrate... I can't explain clearly. I just said that I saw a lot of cavalry..."
The muscles on Magistrate Lu's face were twitching, and so many sentries were deployed along Laishui River that he didn't even see how many rebels were coming, so he came back to report the news.
Cavalry? Where did Song Jingang get so many cavalry? Obviously, he also thought about it. When the sentries saw that the other party was a cavalry, they immediately fled back, fearing that they would run slower and be caught up by the cavalry.
At this time, he and the Zhuo County officials around him were praying that Luo Yi could quickly send troops to rescue. Zhuo County has become the southwest gateway of Zhuo County in the past few years, and the losses of the defenders are increasing.
Luo Yi, the general manager of Youzhou, always used insufficient troops as an excuse to refuse to send more troops to Zhuoxian.
This is obviously not like boosting the arrogance of local wealthy families and making the local area more dependent on the county.
They were indeed cavalry. The sound of intensive horse hooves could be heard from afar, which frightened the Zhuojun garrison.
Some people are already thinking, are they the Turks? How did they get through Juyong Pass?
"It's...it's my Great Sui...the cavalry of the Great Sui. I saw...it's the flag of the sun, moon and stars..."
There was no need to shout, everyone could see it clearly. The familiar flag of the sun, moon and stars was floating high in the air, and the knights wearing the Sui army's standard half-armor were looming in the smoke and dust, rushing over like a tide.
The flag was waving, and the cavalry who still maintained a relatively strict formation during the gallop reined in their horses. As the horses neighed, the black cavalry slowly stopped under the city.
The people on the city finally discovered that the number of cavalry below the city was not as large as they had imagined. It should be about two thousand people.
They rode quietly on their war horses, their bodies covered with smoke and dust. It was obvious that they had traveled a long distance to get here.
They came here with smoke and dust, and immediately the warm summer wind here became cold and chilling.
Quietly, except for the neighing of war horses and the trembling of flags flying fiercely in the air, everything seemed to have quieted down. Murderous aura quietly began to flow slowly in the air and gradually condensed into shape.
The people of Zhuoxian County have never seen such an elite force in many battles. Even though the Youzhou Army dominated Hebei and was always known as an elite force, it seemed to lack a lot compared to the cavalry army under the city.
The people on the city were so impressed by the momentum that they looked at the city below in shock and forgot their words.
For a moment, there was silence all over the city and it looked a little strange.
In the queue, a horseman galloped out and came to the foot of Zhuoxian City. He shouted loudly: "We have been ordered from the Eastern Capital to come to Hebei to suppress the rebellion. Which official in the city is coming to speak."
This was so unexpected. This cavalry army seemed to fly down from the sky and appeared under the city of Zhuoxian County, making the officials of Zhuoxian County look at each other.
Although they were a little overwhelmed, many people breathed a sigh of relief in their hearts. Most people were thinking, it would be better if they were not a bandit army;